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Kava extract for treating anxiety.

M H Pittler1, E Ernst

  • 1Department of Complementary Medicine, University of Exeter, 25 Victoria Park Road, Exeter, Devon, UK, EX2 4NT. M.H.Pittler@ex.ac.uk

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|January 22, 2003
PubMed
Summary
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Kava extract effectively reduces anxiety symptoms compared to placebo in short-term treatment. While generally safe, further research is needed to confirm long-term safety for anxiety management.

Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology
  • Psychiatry
  • Evidence-based Medicine

Background:

  • Anxiety treatments like psychotherapy are often impractical due to resource and time constraints.
  • Synthetic anxiolytic drugs can be effective but carry adverse event risks.
  • There is a need for safe and effective anxiety treatment options.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy and safety of kava extract for anxiety treatment.
  • To synthesize findings from rigorous clinical trials comparing kava extract to placebo.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) up to August 2002.
  • Inclusion criteria specified oral kava extract monotherapy in RCTs.
  • Methodological quality assessed using the Jadad scoring system; data extracted independently by two reviewers.

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Main Results:

  • Eleven trials with 645 participants met inclusion criteria.
  • Meta-analysis of six studies showed kava extract significantly reduced anxiety scores (Hamilton Anxiety scale) compared to placebo (WMD 5.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 8.8, p=0.01).
  • Reported adverse events were mild, transient, and infrequent.

Conclusions:

  • Kava extract demonstrates effectiveness as a symptomatic treatment for anxiety when compared to placebo.
  • Available data suggest kava extract is relatively safe for short-term use (1-24 weeks).
  • Further rigorous research is warranted, especially concerning the long-term safety profile of kava.