Table 1. Participants’ characteristics.
| EA group | AC group | Control group | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (N = 24) | (N = 24) | (N = 24) | ||
| Demographic characteristics | ||||
| Age (years) | 35.3 ± 12.0 | 38.3 ± 13.9 | 42.2 ± 12.2 | 0.274 |
| Height (cm) | 160.0 ± 5.37 | 158.0 ± 6.79 | 159.0 ± 4.98 | 0.900 |
| Weight (kg) | 54.5 ± 8.57 | 54.0 ± 5.77 | 51.5 ± 5.29 | 0.189 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 21.3 ± 2.89 | 21.5 ± 1.66 | 20.4 ± 2.18 | 0.135 |
| Exercise (%) | 62.5 | 79.2 | 54.2 | 0.180 |
| Smoking (%) | 0 | 4.2 | 0 | 0.391 |
| Alcohol (%) | 29.2 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 0.817 |
| Clinical characteristics | ||||
| Hand VAS score (T0) | 5.83 ± 1.05 | 6.21 ± 1.38 | 7.08 ± 1.25 | 0.003 |
| Hand VAS score (T1) | 4.08 ± 1.67 | 4.33 ± 1.63 | 6.75 ± 1.39 | <0.001 |
| Hand VAS score (T2) | 4.42 ± 1.84 | 4.71 ± 2.10 | 6.13 ± 1.68 | 0.005 |
| Feet VAS score (T0) | 6.79 ± 1.02 | 7.17 ± 1.40 | 7.46 ± 1.14 | 0.163 |
| Feet VAS score (T1) | 5.00 ± 1.82 | 5.67 ± 1.79 | 7.13 ± 1.36 | <0.001 |
| Feet VAS score (T2) | 4.50 ± 1.69 | 5.29 ± 2.10 | 6.46 ± 1.61 | 0.002 |
| ΔT hands (°C) (T0) | 1.56 ± 1.42 | 1.25 ± 1.26 | 2.30 ± 1.98 | 0.068 |
| ΔT hands (°C) (T1) | 0.70 ± 1.49 | 0.67 ± 1.97 | 1.51 ± 2.80 | 0.319 |
| ΔT hands (°C) (T2) | 0.38 ± 2.17 | 0.90 ± 1.81 | 1.34 ± 2.36 | 0.299 |
| ΔT feet (°C) (T0) | 2.31 ± 2.41 | 2.99 ± 1.58 | 2.54 ± 1.95 | 0.489 |
| ΔT feet (°C) (T1) | 2.72 ± 2.26 | 2.25 ± 2.30 | 2.34 ± 2.16 | 0.745 |
| ΔT feet (°C) (T2) | 0.84 ± 1.75 | 2.38 ± 1.74 | 2.22 ± 2.11 | 0.011 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Total score (T0) |
79.33 ± 7.84 | 78.75 ± 9.03 | 75.96 ± 8.46 | 0.341 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Total score (T1) |
88.83 ± 8.81 | 87.29 ± 10.82 | 82.83 ± 9.16 | 0.089 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Total score (T2) |
91.00 ± 10.84 | 86.96 ± 10.83 | 81.21 ± 11.10 | 0.011 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Physical domain (T0) |
23.67 ± 2.96 | 23.63 ± 3.03 | 22.67 ± 3.25 | 0.450 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Physical domain (T1) |
24.50 ± 3.22 | 24.54 ± 3.31 | 23.17 ± 3.17 | 0.252 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Physical domain (T2) |
25.54 ± 3.71 | 24.21 ± 3.19 | 22.63 ± 3.99 | 0.026 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Psychological domain (T0) |
18.92 ± 2.99 | 19.00 ± 3.11 | 18.50 ± 2.62 | 0.817 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Psychological domain (T1) |
19.83 ± 2.82 | 19.46 ± 2.75 | 18.46 ± 2.34 | 0.185 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Psychological domain (T2) |
20.75 ± 2.92 | 19.33 ± 2.82 | 22.63 ± 3.99 | 0.015 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Social domain (T0) |
10.54 ± 1.25 | 10.08 ± 1.59 | 10.21 ± 1.28 | 0.497 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Social domain (T1) |
10.33 ± 1.09 | 10.33 ± 1.49 | 10.21 ± 1.47 | 0.935 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Social domain (T2) |
10.42 ± 1.50 | 10.13 ± 1.62 | 10.04 ± 1.33 | 0.660 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Environmental domain (T0) |
26.21 ± 3.12 | 26.04 ± 3.26 | 24.58 ± 2.99 | 0.148 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Environmental domain (T1) |
27.42 ± 3.28 | 26.21 ± 3.95 | 24.63 ± 2.89 | 0.021 |
| WHOQOL-BREF Environmental domain (T2) |
27.54 ± 3.79 | 26.42 ± 4.05 | 23.83 ± 3.37 | 0.003 |
EA, electroacupuncture; AC, acupuncture; VAS, visual analog scale; BMI, body mass index; WHOQOL-BREF, World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF