Zhang J, Li WB, Wang XX, Han TT, Dong S, Sang YN, Lu M, Guo XH. Congqi Shoushen Tuina Method for generalized anxiety disorder: Clinical outcomes and serum metabolomic profiles. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(7): 117803 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.117803]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Xian-Hui Guo, PhD, Professor, College of Acupuncture and Massage, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 156 Jinshui East Road, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China. gxhhactcm@126.com
Research Domain of This Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
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research-article
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Zhang J, Li WB, Wang XX, Han TT, Dong S, Sang YN, Lu M, Guo XH. Congqi Shoushen Tuina Method for generalized anxiety disorder: Clinical outcomes and serum metabolomic profiles. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(7): 117803 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.117803]
Jing Zhang, Ting-Ting Han, Xian-Hui Guo, College of Acupuncture and Massage, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China
Wei-Biao Li, Xue-Xia Wang, Sheng Dong, Ya-Nan Sang, Xian-Hui Guo, Department of Tuina, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China
Min Lu, Department of Academic Affairs, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China
Co-first authors: Jing Zhang and Wei-Biao Li.
Author contributions: Zhang J and Li WB contributed equally as co-first authors; Zhang J and Guo XH were responsible for study design and data collection; Zhang J, Guo XH, and Wang XX were responsible for writing the manuscript; Guo XH and Li WB contributed to manuscript revision; Li WB and Dong S contributed to publication screening; Li WB was responsible for analysis and interpretation; Wang XX was responsible for analyzing data; Han TT performed the literature search and collected the data; Dong S was involved in the initial manuscript editing; Sang YN was involved in data screening; Lu M was involved in reviewing and proofreading. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Henan Province “Double First-class” Establishment Discipline of Chinese Medical Science Research Project, No. HSRP-DFCTCM-2023-1-09; and Henan Provincial Key Science and Technology Research Project, No. 252102310469.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 2023HL-010.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study has been registered on the International Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Registry (https://itmctr.ccebtcm.org.cn/zh-CN), No. ITMCTR2025000970.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: Dataset available from the corresponding author.
Corresponding author: Xian-Hui Guo, PhD, Professor, College of Acupuncture and Massage, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 156 Jinshui East Road, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China. gxhhactcm@126.com
Received: December 16, 2025 Revised: January 27, 2026 Accepted: February 28, 2026 Published online: July 19, 2026 Processing time: 192 Days and 18.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common emotional disorder in clinical practice, with a high incidence rate, and it can seriously affect people’s work and life. The Congqi Shoushen Tuina Method can be used to treat the head and abdomen simultaneously, and can also regulate the body’s energy and spirit; meanwhile, the clinical treatment of GAD is significant.
AIM
To assess clinical outcomes of the Congqi Shoushen Tuina Method in GAD and to examine related serum metabolomic profiles.
METHODS
This experiment enrolled 20 GAD patients as the GAD group, who received Congqi Shoushen Tuina Method (40 minutes per session, once daily, 5 times weekly, for 2 consecutive weeks). The primary outcome was the Hamilton Anxiety Scale; secondary outcomes included the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Meanwhile, 20 healthy volunteers served as the control group to explore serum metabolomics profile alterations in the GAD group before and after intervention, compared with the control group.
RESULTS
After a 2-week intervention, the GAD group’s Hamilton Anxiety Scale scores dropped significantly, along with notable decreases in Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores. Serum untargeted metabolomics revealed distinct metabolites in GAD patients vs healthy controls, dominated by lipids and lipid-like molecules (19.86%), followed by organic heterocyclic compounds (15.87%) and others; lipid molecules (e.g., phosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylcholine, Lysophosphatidylethanolamine) showed the most prominent differences. Congqi Shoushen Tuina Method reversed levels of some metabolites, especially lipids. This suggests that therapy alleviates GAD symptoms by regulating metabolite expression, particularly lipids metabolism. Exploratory biomarker identification also pinpointed 5 key differential metabolites: Levulinic acid, Corypalline, sphingomyelin (d18: 1/20:0), lysine-valine, and cucurbitin.
CONCLUSION
Congqi Shoushen Tuina Method modulates serum metabolites in GAD patients, especially lipid metabolism, alleviating anxiety symptoms and improving sleep quality. Identified metabolites may support future prediction and diagnosis of GAD.
Core Tip: The Congqi Shoushen Tuina Method, a distinguished traditional Chinese medicine-specific manipulation therapy, is characterized by its core principles of treating the head and abdomen in tandem and coordinating qi dynamics and mental state synergistically. Mechanistically, it exerts systemic regulatory functions by modulating patients’ serum metabolomic signatures, resulting in a marked amelioration of anxious emotions and associated complications, including sleep disturbances. Given its superior safety, good tolerability, and high patient compliance, this therapeutic approach holds substantial promise for broad clinical translation and application.
