TABLE 1.
Characteristics of participants in different groups and healthy controls.
| Characteristic | Acupuncture group (n = 40) | Sham-acupuncture group (n = 40) | p-value | FC (n = 80) | HC (n = 28) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (female) n (%) | 39 (97.50) | 39 (97.50) | 0.753 | 78 (97.50%) | 28 (100%) | 0.398 |
| Age, M (IQR) | 27.50 (15.50) | 27.00 (9.50) | 0.497 | 27.00 (10.75) | 26.50 (8.25) | 0.113 |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 20.68 ± 2.29 | 20.67 ± 2.25 | 0.980 | 20.68 ± 2.26 | 21.47 ± 2.35 | 0.185 |
| Mean constipation duration, M (IQR), mo | 120.00 (98.25) | 108.00 (144.00) | 0.261 | — | — | — |
| Mean CSBMs per week, M (IQR), n | 0.50 (1.00) | 1.00 (2.00) | 0.126 | — | — | — |
| Mean SBMs per week, M (IQR), n | 3.00 (1.00) | 3.00 (0.75) | 0.158 | — | — | — |
| Mean bristol stool form scale score (BSFS) for stool consistency of SBMs, mean (SD) | 2.85 ± 1.27 | 2.92 ± 0.80 | 0.753 | — | — | — |
| Mean straining score of SBMs, M (IQR) | 1.00 (0.67) | 1.00 (0.32) | 0.330 | — | — | — |
| Mean PAC-QOL score, mean (SD) | 2.51 ± 0.66 | 2.52 ± 0.68 | 0.970 | — | — | — |
| Mean SAS score, M (IQR) | 38.75 (11.25) | 41.25 (8.13) | 0.478 | — | — | — |
| Mean SDS score, mean (SD) | 41.72 ± 9.04 | 44.88 ± 9.75 | 0.137 | — | — | — |