Table 1.
Characteristics of Participating KMDs and Patients (N = 37,490 acupuncture treatments)
| KMDs (N=222) | n (%) |
| Years in practice | |
| < 5 years | 118 (53.2) |
| ≥ 5 years | 104 (46.8) |
| Type of practice | |
| Hospital | 45 (20.3) |
| Community health centre | 74 (33.3) |
| Private clinic | 103 (46.4) |
| Patients (N=37,490 treatments)a | |
| Age (years) | 59.3 ± 18.5 |
| Gender | |
| Male | 14,058 (37.5) |
| Female | 23,432 (62.5) |
| Underlying diseases† | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 11,727 (31.3) |
| Diabetes | 4,233 (11.3) |
| Allergic disease | 353 (0.9) |
| Bleeding disorder | 96 (0.3) |
| Pacemaker | 56 (0.1) |
| Other diseases | 5,176 (13.8) |
| None | 21,596 (57.6) |
| Current medicationb | |
| Prescription or over-the-counter drugs | 15,841 (42.3) |
| Antihypertensive drugs | 10,685 (28.5) |
| Anti-diabetic drugs | 4,006 (10.7) |
| Anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy | 2,035 (5.4) |
| Others including over-the-counter drugs | 7,378 (19.7) |
| Herbal preparations | 7,448 (19.9) |
| Others | 865 (2.3) |
| None | 16,241 (43.3) |
KMD Korean Medicine Doctor
Data are expressed as numbers (percentage) or mean ± SD
aIndividual patients could be counted more than once if they received multiple treatments
bPatients could have ≥1 underlying disease and/or current medication