Table 3.

Evidence quality of the results of responding rate.

Results	Test type	Downgrade factor					Upgrade factor			Quality
		DD	In	HE	RI	PB	SE	BSE	DE
EA versus “controls”
Total	RCT	−1A	0	−1B	0	0	0	0	0	Low
Embedding	RCT	−1A	0	0	−2C	0	0	0	0	Very low
Massage	RCT	−1A	0	0	−2C	0	0	0	0	Very low
Needle acupuncture	RCT	−1A	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Moderate
Rood technique	RCT	−1A	0	0	−2C	0	0	0	0	Very low
Stuck needling	RCT	−1A	0	0	−2C	0	0	0	0	Very low
Warm needling	RCT	−1A	0	−1B	−1D	0	0	0	0	Very low
Current	RCT	−1A	0	0	0	−1F	0	0	0	Low
Current characteristics
Low frequency	RCT	−1A	0	0	−1D	0	0	0	0	Low
Low-high frequency	RCT	−1A	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Moderate
High frequency	RCT	−1A	0	0	−1D	0	0	0	0	Low
DBC	RCT	−1A	−1E	0	0	0	0	0	0	Low
EA as an adjunct	RCT	−1A	0	0	0	−1F	0	0	0	Low

Note. DD: design defects. IN: indirectness. HE: heterogeneity. RI: data sparse or incomplete. PB: publication bias. SE: significant effect. BSE: bias subtractive effect. DE: dose effect. DBC: differences between current characteristics. A: study design defects may affect the results; B: cannot ignore heterogeneity; C: very few participants seriously affect the results; D: very few participants may affect the results; E: indirect comparison results; F: publication bias may affect the results.