Patients who signed consent forms but did not complete 3 month questionnaires(n = 3060) | Patients who completed 3 month questionnaires(n = 6348) | Difference | 95% CI | p value | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
p values from χ2 test except *two independent sample t tests. | |||||
Female | 2136 (69.9%) | 4821 (75.9%) | −6.0% | (−8.0% to −4.1%) | 0.001 |
Aged under 40 | 946 (30.9%) | 1423 (22.4%) | 8.5% | (6.6% to 10.4%) | 0.001 |
Mean (SD) age (years) | 49.2 (15.4) | 51.9 (14.5) | −2.7 | (−3.3 to −2.1) | 0.001* |
First time having acupuncture | 546 (17.9%) | 707 (11.2%) | 6.7% | (5.2% to 8.3%) | 0.001 |
Paid for by NHS | 165 (5.5%) | 276 (4.3%) | 1.1% | (0% to 2.1%) | 0.025 |
Prior GP or hospital contact | 2356 (77.6%) | 4901 (77.2%) | −0.2% | (−2.2% to 1.6%) | 0.87 |
Patients whose practitioners had less than 2 years experience | 240 (7.8%) | 376 (5.9%) | 1.9% | (0.8% to 3.1%) | 0.001 |