Can acupuncture combined with SSRIs improve clinical symptoms and quality of life in patients with depression? Secondary outcomes of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

•Deprssed patients could benefit from both manual acupuncture (MA) and electroacupuncture (EA) combined SSRIs treatment.•MA plus SSRIs demostrated more effectiveness in improving core symptoms of depression in psychological impairments,•EA plus SSRIs manifested more improvement in physical/psychological symptoms such as anxiety and sleep disturbance.