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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Jan 19, 2026; 16(1): 111471
Published online Jan 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i1.111471
Published online Jan 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i1.111471
Meta-analysis on the efficacy of liver-soothing formulas for perimenopausal anxiety and depression
Rui Wang, Ming-Xia Wu, Xiao-Fang Wang, Zong-Tao Chen, Health Management Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chong
Author contributions: Wang R and Wu MX acquired, analyzed, and interpreted the data; Wang R and Wang XF drafted, revised, and approved the manuscript; Wang R and Chen ZT conceived and designed the study, and critically revised and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zong-Tao Chen, PhD, Professor, Health Management Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), No. 30 Gaotanyan Street Shapingba District, Chongqing 400038, China. zongtaochen@126.com
Received: August 6, 2025
Revised: September 9, 2025
Accepted: October 23, 2025
Published online: January 19, 2026
Processing time: 146 Days and 19 Hours
Revised: September 9, 2025
Accepted: October 23, 2025
Published online: January 19, 2026
Processing time: 146 Days and 19 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of liver-soothing formulas for perimenopausal anxiety and depression by synthesizing data from randomized controlled trials. The results show that these formulas outperform the controls (placebo and conventional Western medicine) in reducing anxiety and depression scores, with fewer adverse reactions. When combined with other interventions, they exert synergistic effects. However, the high heterogeneity and small sample sizes in some trials limit the robustness of conclusions, requiring cautious interpretation.