Depression, often under-diagnosed and under-treated, is the leading cause of disability
worldwide and contributes significantly to the global burden of diseases, with university
students being a major risk group. There is a growing demand for non-pharmacological
treatments for depression. In this sense, auricular acupuncture is considered a simple,
low cost technique, well accepted by patients. The Unified Health System (Sistema Único
de Saúde -SUS) incorporated this practice in 2006, but there is a lack of studies
evaluating its efficacy and safety. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the
efficacy of auricular acupuncture to reduce depressive symptoms in comparison with usual
care and non-specific auricular acupuncture. This is a randomized clinical trial, blinded
to the evaluator, participant and statistician. The study sample will be composed of 280
university students, divided equally into two groups: Experimental group - GE (auricular
acupuncture) and Control group - GC (non-specific auricular acupuncture). The GE and GC
participants will be submitted to 12 sessions of auricular acupuncture, 2 times a week.
The primary outcome of the study will be the proportion of participants who present
improvement of 50% or more in their symptoms, evaluated by the PHQ-9, three months after
inclusion. The secondary outcomes will be: improvement of 50% or more in their symptoms,
after six months; quality of life (SF-36), change in the use of antidepressant
medication, events and adverse effects, levels of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
(BDNF), Interleukin 1β, Interleukin-6 and TNF-α in blood plasma. The data will be
analyzed aiming at treating according to the principles of CONSORT.