Comparing demographics, clinical characteristics, and patient-reported outcomes between TCM users and nonusers.
| Patient Characteristics | TCM Users, n = 115 | Nonusers, n = 115 | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic factors | |||
| Age, yrs | 60 (50–68) | 53 (39–63) | < 0.01 |
| Female | 84 (73) | 65 (57) | 0.01 |
| ≤ High school education | 75 (65) | 88 (77) | 0.06 |
| Employment | 0.04 | ||
| Employed or student | 43 (37) | 62 (54) | |
| Unemployed | 13 (11) | 12 (10) | |
| Retired or homemaker | 59 (51) | 41 (36) | |
| ≥ 20 yrs living in the US | 65 (57) | 42 (37) | < 0.01 |
| Clinical factors | |||
| Length of diagnosis, yrs | 3 (2–7) | 5 (3–10) | < 0.01 |
| Medication Regimen Complexity Index | 12 (9–18) | 11 (6–15) | 0.03 |
| Report Western medicine ineffective* | 26 (23) | 8 (7) | < 0.01 |
| Report Western medicine side effects† | 50 (44) | 36 (30) | 0.04 |
| Believe TCM works^ | 94 (82) | 74 (64) | < 0.01 |
| PROMIS T scores | |||
| Sleep disturbance | 53 (46–57) | 50 (44–55) | 0.07 |
| Cognitive concerns | 36 (30–40) | 35 (26–39) | 0.40 |
| Anxiety | 53 (43–58) | 43 (36–54) | < 0.001 |
| Depression | 51 (37–58) | 43 (37–54) | < 0.001 |
| Pain interference | 60 (54–65) | 56 (49–62) | 0.002 |
| Fatigue, mean (SD) | 53.9 (10) | 49.3 (9) | < 0.001 |
| Physical function | 42 (37–49) | 46 (40–54) | 0.002 |
| Instrumental support | 49 (45–51) | 49 (45–53) | 0.70 |
| Ability to participate in social roles and activities | 56 (49–66) | 61 (55–66) | 0.003 |
Values are n (%) or median (Q1–Q3) unless otherwise indicated. There is overall < 1% missing data except for the variable PROMIS instrumental support, which has 39% missing value because it was added to the survey at a later time.
↵* Answering “not at all, a little, or don’t know” vs “somewhat, quite a bit, or a lot” to “how effective is Western medicine prescribed by your rheumatologist?”
↵† Answering “Not at all or don’t know” vs “a little, somewhat, or quite a bit” to “have you had any side effects from Western medications prescribed by your rheumatologist?”
↵^ Answering “a little, somewhat, quite a bit, or a lot” vs “not at all or don’t know” to “in general do you believe TCM works?” TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine; PROMIS: Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System.