Table 2.
Demographic characteristics and disease-related data between groups.
| Variables | Groups | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control group (n = 34) | APA group (n = 34) | t/X2/Z | p | |
| Age, mean (SD) | 54.35 (12.84) | 52.59 (10.50) | 0.610a | 0.544 |
| BMI#, mean (SD) kg/m2 | 23.38 (2.74) | 23.79 (2.79) | −0.619a | 0.538 |
|
| ||||
| Education level, n (%) | 0.287b | 0.866 | ||
| Middle school or below | 15 (44.12%) | 14 (41.18%) | ||
| High school | 9 (26.47%) | 11 (32.35%) | ||
| College or above | 10 (29.41%) | 9 (26.47%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Employment status, n (%) | 0.061b | 0.804 | ||
| Employment | 13 (38.24%) | 14 (41.18%) | ||
| Unemployment | 21 (61.76%) | 20 (58.82%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Marital status, n (%) | 0.159b | 0.690 | ||
| Married | 31 (91.18%) | 30 (88.24%) | ||
| Single/divorced/widow | 3 (8.82%) | 4 (11.76%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Religion, n (%) | 0.219b | 0.896 | ||
| None or other | 26 (76.47%) | 27 (79.41%) | ||
| Christian | 3 (8.82%) | 2 (5.88%) | ||
| Buddhist | 5 (14.71%) | 5 (14.71%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Insomnia before BC, n (%) | 0.159b | 0.690 | ||
| No | 31 (91.18%) | 30 (88.24%) | ||
| Yes | 3 (8.82%) | 4 (11.76%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Cancer stage, n (%) | −0.148b | 0.882 | ||
| I | 10 (29.41%) | 8 (23.53%) | ||
| II | 16 (47.06%) | 20 (58.82%) | ||
| III | 7 (20.59%) | 3 (8.82%) | ||
| IV | 1 (2.94%) | 3 (8.82%) | ||
|
| ||||
| Chemotherapy cycles received, mean (SD) | 3.47 (1.62) | 3.88 (1.82) | −1.017c | 0.309 |
| HADS_anxiety, mean (SD) | 4.29 (3.74) | 4.59 (3.14) | −0.685c | 0.494 |
| HADS_depression, mean (SD) | 4.76 (2.90) | 4.53 (2.67) | −0.179c | 0.858 |
Abbreviation: APA, auricular point acupressure; BC, breast cancer; BMI, body mass index; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. aIndependent t-test was used. bChi-square test was used. cMann–Whitney U test was used. The Chi-square test was used to examine the differences of cancer stage between two groups.