Table 2.

Top 10 Broad and Specific Diagnostic Categorization of Reasons for Visits to Acupuncturists Licensed in Massachusetts (1999) and Washington (1998)

Massachusetts (N = 1,298 Visits)			Washington (N = 1,263 Visits)
Categories*	Primary Reason %		Categories*	Primary Reason %
Broad			Broad
1. Musculoskeletal conditions	33.0		1. Musculoskeletal conditions	46.9
2. General conditions	12.1		2. Nervous system conditions	11.5
3. Psychological and mental health symptoms	10.4		3. General conditions	9.1
4. Nervous system conditions	9.9		4. Psychological and mental health symptoms	7.6
5. Respiratory system conditions	7.1		5. Digestive conditions	4.5
6. Genitourinary system conditions	5.7		6. Respiratory system conditions	4.3
7. Digestive conditions	4.9		7. Genitourinary system conditions	2.9
8. Wellness†	3.9		8. Cardiovascular system conditions	2.4
9. Cardiovascular system conditions	2.7		9. Infectious disease conditions	2.0
10. Neoplasms	1.6		10. Skin conditions	1.7
Specific	Primary Reason %	Any Reason %	Specific	Primary Reason %	Any Reason %
1. Back symptoms	11.3	17.8	1. Back symptoms	17.0	25.3
2. Anxiety or depression	7.5	16.7	2. Neck symptoms	7.3	13.7
3. Fatigue	4.8	11.8	3. Headache	6.6	11.0
4. Headache	4.0	6.2	4. Shoulder symptoms	5.6	12.7
5. Wellness†	3.9	5.3	5. Anxiety or depression	4.5	12.6
6. Neck symptoms	3.4	8.2	6. Fatigue	2.8	9.7
7. Allergies to food, milk, NOS	2.6	4.4	7. Knee symptoms	2.1	4.1
8. Shoulder symptoms	2.6	7.9	8. Abdominal pain, cramps, distention	2.0	3.4
9. Other nervous system symptoms	2.2	3.1	9. Infectious disease	2.0	3.7
10. Problems of pregnancy or fertility	2.0	2.5	10. Allergies to food, milk, NOS	1.9	3.8

* Broad categories of primary reason for visit codes correspond to ICD-9 chapters.

† Wellness was not part of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey reason for visit classification.

NOS = not otherwise specified.