Characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis patients according to whether they received acupuncture treatment
| Variable | Rheumatoid arthritis | Standardised mean difference | |||
| Acupuncture treatment | |||||
| No (n=11 613) | Yes (n=11 613) | ||||
| n | % | n | % | ||
| Sex | |||||
| Women | 9499 | 81.8 | 9478 | 81.6 | 0.01 |
| Men | 2114 | 18.2 | 2135 | 18.4 | 0.01 |
| Age group (years) | |||||
| 18–39 | 1839 | 15.8 | 1588 | 13.7 | 0.06 |
| 40–59 | 6684 | 57.6 | 7330 | 63.1 | 0.11 |
| ≥60 | 3090 | 26.6 | 2695 | 23.2 | 0.08 |
| Mean±SD (years) | 54.9±14.5 | 54.8±13.2 | 0.01 | ||
| Baseline comorbidity | |||||
| Diabetes mellitus | 2176 | 18.7 | 2126 | 18.3 | 0.01 |
| Hypertension | 4507 | 38.8 | 4416 | 38.0 | 0.02 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 3267 | 28.1 | 3273 | 28.2 | 0.001 |
| Congestive heart failure | 741 | 6.38 | 723 | 6.23 | 0.006 |
| Depression | 1256 | 10.8 | 1248 | 10.8 | 0.002 |
| Anxiety | 2880 | 24.8 | 2841 | 24.5 | 0.008 |
| Alcoholism | 208 | 1.79 | 221 | 1.90 | 0.008 |
| Tobacco use | 70 | 0.60 | 77 | 0.66 | 0.008 |
| Obesity | 130 | 1.12 | 135 | 1.16 | 0.004 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 741 | 6.38 | 715 | 6.16 | 0.009 |
| Drugs used | |||||
| Oral steroid | 6489 | 55.6 | 6495 | 55.9 | 0.001 |
| NSAID | 8823 | 76.0 | 8882 | 76.5 | 0.012 |
| Statin | 5592 | 5.10 | 593 | 5.11 | 0.000 |
| Conventional DMARDs | |||||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 5670 | 48.8 | 5663 | 48.8 | 0.001 |
| Sulfasalazine | 4295 | 37.0 | 4323 | 37.2 | 0.005 |
| Methotrexate | 9 | 0.08 | 10 | 0.09 | 0.003 |
| Leflunomide | 867 | 7.47 | 872 | 7.51 | 0.002 |
| D-penicillamine | 131 | 1.13 | 1298 | 1.11 | 0.002 |
| Azathioprine | 208 | 1.79 | 223 | 1.92 | 0.01 |
| Mycophenolate | 5 | 0.04 | 5 | 0.04 | 0.000 |
| Cyclosporine | 555 | 4.78 | 544 | 4.68 | 0.004 |
| Biological DMARDs | |||||
| Etanercept | 625 | 5.38 | 629 | 5.42 | 0.002 |
| Adalimumab | 198 | 1.70 | 193 | 1.66 | 0.003 |
| Types of acupuncture | |||||
| Manual acupuncture | – | – | 10 050 | 86.5 | |
| Electroacupuncture | – | – | 401 | 3.45 | |
| Combination of both types | – | – | 1162 | 10.0 | |
| Duration from rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis and index, days (mean, median) | (1078.52, 795.0) | (1065.18, 707.0) | 0.32 | ||
| Acupuncture visits (mean, median) | – | (9.83, 3.00) | |||
DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.