Table 3:
Primary and secondary outcome measures for the use of acupuncture for the prophylaxis of migraine*
| Shaoyang-specific acupuncture n = 121 |
Shaoyang-nonspecific acupuncture n = 119 |
Yangming-specific acupuncture n = 118 |
Sham acupuncture (control) n = 118 |
Comparisons between acupuncture groups; p value‡ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome measure | Mean (95% CI) | p value† | Mean (95% CI) | p value† | Mean† (95% CI) | p value† | Mean (95% CI) | Shaoyang- specific v. Shaoyang- nonspecific | Shaoyang- specific v. Yangming- specific | Shaoyang- nonspecific v. Yangming- specific |
| No. of days with a migraine | ||||||||||
| Interval, wk | ||||||||||
| Baseline§ | 6.3 (5.4–7.2) | 5.6 (5.0–6.2) | 6.1 (5.3–7.0) | 5.5 (4.8–6.2) | ||||||
| 1–4§ | 4.2 (3.7–4.8) | 0.31 | 3.7 (3.2–4.3) | 0.023 | 4.1 (3.6–4.6) | 0.17 | 4.6 (4.0–5.2) | 0.21 | 0.72 | 0.37 |
| 5–8 | 2.8 (2.2–3.3) | 0.08 | 2.7 (2.2–3.3) | 0.07 | 2.9 (2.3–3.4) | 0.16 | 3.4 (2.9–4.0) | 0.96 | 0.74 | 0.71 |
| 13–16 | 2.2 (1.7–2.7) | 0.003 | 2.1 (1.6–2.6) | < 0.001 | 2.4 (1.9–2.9) | 0.011 | 3.3 (2.8–3.8) | 0.66 | 0.67 | 0.38 |
| Frequency of migraine¶ | ||||||||||
| Interval, wk | ||||||||||
| Baseline§ | 4.0 (3.6–4.3) | 4.0 (3.7–4.3) | 4.0 (3.7–4.4) | 3.9 (3.6–4.2) | ||||||
| 1–4§ | 3.0 (2.7–3.4) | 0.005 | 2.7 (2.4–3.0) | < 0.001 | 3.0 (2.6–3.3) | 0.002 | 3.7 (3.4–4.0) | 0.14 | 0.73 | 0.26 |
| 5–8 | 2.0 (1.7–2.3) | 0.009 | 2.1 (1.8–2.4) | 0.041 | 2.3 (2.0–2.6) | 0.20 | 2.6 (2.3–2.9) | 0.57 | 0.18 | 0.44 |
| 13–16 | 1.6 (1.3–1.9) | > 0.001 | 1.7 (1.4–2.0) | 0.002 | 1.9 (1.6–2.2) | 0.024 | 2.4 (2.1–2.7) | 0.44 | 0.12 | 0.43 |
| Intensity of migraine‡ | ||||||||||
| Interval, wk | ||||||||||
| Baseline | 2.0 (1.9–2.1) | 2.1 (2.0–2.2) | 2.0 (1.9–2.1) | 2.0 (1.9–2.1) | ||||||
| 1–4§ | 1.7 (1.4–1.9) | 0.37 | 1.8 (1.5–2.0) | 0.67 | 1.7 (1.5–2.0) | 0.45 | 1.8 (1.6–2.1) | 0.64 | 0.90 | 0.74 |
| 5–8§ | 1.2 (1.0–1.4) | 0.08 | 1.4 (1.2–1.7) | 0.95 | 1.4 (1.2–1.6) | 0.78 | 1.4 (1.2–1.7) | 0.10 | 0.14 | 0.84 |
| 13–16 | 1.0 (0.9–1.3) | 0.002 | 1.4 (1.2–1.6) | 0.31 | 1.3 (1.1–1.5) | 0.17 | 1.5 (1.3–1.8) | 0.030 | 0.07 | 0.72 |
| Intensity of pain (Visual Analogue Scale score)** | ||||||||||
| Interval, wk | ||||||||||
| Baseline§ | 5.4 (5.1–5.7) | 5.7 (5.3–6.0) | 5.4 (5.1–5.7) | 5.5 (5.2–5.8) | ||||||
| 1–4§ | 4.1 (3.8–4.4) | 0.018 | 4.4 (4.1–4.7) | 0.26 | 4.3 (4.0–4.6) | 0.09 | 4.6 (4.3–4.9) | 0.21 | 0.49 | 0.58 |
| 5–8 | 3.1 (2.7–3.5) | < 0.001 | 3.8 (3.4–4.1) | 0.24 | 3.8 (3.4–4.1) | 0.22 | 4.1 (3.7–4.4) | 0.009 | 0.010 | 0.97 |
| 13–16 | 2.8 (2.4–3.1) | < 0.001 | 3.5 (3.1–3.9) | 0.005 | 3.6 (3.3–4.0) | 0.019 | 4.3 (3.9–4.6) | 0.005 | 0.001 | 0.61 |
| MSQ score,††restrictive subscale | ||||||||||
| Interval, wk | ||||||||||
| Baseline§ | 61.2 (58.7–63.7) | 58.5 (55.6–61.4) | 60.3 (57.9–62.7) | 58.5 (55.8–61.2) | 0.54 | 0.049 | 0.17 | |||
| 1–4§ | 74.4 (72.1–76.7) | 0.004 | 73.4 (71.1–75.7) | 0.023 | 71.2 (68.9–73.5) | 0.36 | 69.6 (67.3–71.9) | 0.08 | 0.014 | 0.46 |
| 5–8 | 80.0 (77.2–82.8) | < 0.001 | 76.6 (73.9–79.4) | 0.07 | 75.2 (72.5–77.9) | 0.27 | 73.1 (70.4–75.8) | 0.04 | 0.020 | 0.77 |
| 13–16 | 81.9 (79.1–84.7) | < 0.001 | 77.8 (75.1–80.6) | 0.01 | 77.3 (74.5–80.0) | 0.022 | 72.7 (70.0–75.5) | 0.33 | 0.019 | 0.17 |
| MSQ score,††preventive subscale | ||||||||||
| Interval, wk | ||||||||||
| Baseline§ | 70.5 (67.6–73.4) | 66.5 (63.1–69.9) | 69.5 (66.5–72.5) | 66.9 (63.4–70.4) | 0.18 | 0.015 | 0.27 | |||
| 1–4§ | 81.9 (79.6–84.2) | 0.001 | 80.3 (77.9–82.6) | 0.023 | 78.0 (75.7–80.3) | 0.38 | 76.5 (74.2–78.8) | 0.047 | 0.006 | 0.43 |
| 5–8 | 85.4 (82.8–88.0) | < 0.001 | 82.9 (80.3–85.4) | 0.036 | 80.9 (78.4–83.4) | 0.31 | 79.0 (76.5–81.6) | 0.79 | 0.32 | 0.47 |
| 13–16 | 87.2 (84.7–89.7) | < 0.001 | 83.7 (81.2–86.1) | 0.019 | 82.3 (79.9–84.7) | 0.12 | 79.5 (77.1–82.0) | 0.09 | 0.006 | 0.31 |
| MSQ score,††functional subscale | ||||||||||
| Interval, wk | ||||||||||
| Baseline§ | 70.3 (66.9–73.7) | 67.0 (63.4–70.6) | 71.0 (67.9–74.1) | 69.0 (65.9–72.1) | 0.034 | 0.007 | 0.54 | |||
| 1–4§ | 81.7 (79.2–84.2) | 0.045 | 81.2 (78.8–83.7) | 0.082 | 80.0 (77.5–82.4) | 0.31 | 78.1 (75.7–80.6) | |||
| 5–8 | 86.9 (84.2–89.7) | 0.003 | 83.6 (80.8–86.3) | 0.19 | 81.6 (78.9–84.3) | 0.77 | 81.0 (78.3–83.7) | 0.21 | 0.72 | 0.37 |
| 13–16 | 88.0 (85.1–90.8) | 0.008 | 83.7 (81.0–86.5) | 0.58 | 82.5 (79.8–85.3) | 0.96 | 82.6 (79.9–85.4) | 0.96 | 0.74 | 0.71 |
Note: CI = confidence interval, MSQ = Migraine Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire.
Except for baseline data, means and confidence intervals are adjusted for center and respective baseline values.
Compared to sham acupuncture group.
P values for the intensity of migraine were derived from Poison regression; all others were derived from analysis of variance.
Patients received acupuncture or sham acupuncture during weeks 1–4; baseline refers to the four-week period before treatment.
Frequency of migraine attacks is defined as the number of episodes of migraine attacks separated by pain free intervals of at least 48 hours.
The intensity of migraine scale ranges from 0 to 3, a higher score indicates more intense pain.
Higher values on the MSQ refer to better quality of life. Range of scores is from 0 to 100.