JAMA Netw Open 2025 (Sep 2); 8 (9): e2531348

Table 1. Baseline Participant Characteristics Overall and by Groupa.

Characteristic Overall (N = 800) Usual medical care (n = 266) Acupuncture
Standard (n = 265) Enhanced (n = 269)
Sociodemographic characteristics
Age, mean (SD), y 73.6 (6.0) 73.7 (6.0) 73.4 (5.8) 73.8 (6.1)
Age ≥75 y 328 (41.0) 109 (41.0) 106 (40.0) 113 (42.0)
Sex
Femaleb 496 (62.0) 168 (63.2) 165 (61.3) 165 (61.3)
Male 304 (38.0) 99 (37.2) 100 (37.7) 105 (39.0)
Race and ethnicity
Asian 42 (5.3) 14 (5.3) 15 (5.8) 13 (4.9)
Black 132 (16.7) 40 (15.2) 51 (19.7) 41 (15.4)
Hispanic 86 (10.9) 24 (9.1) 34 (13.1) 28 (10.5)
White 510 (64.6) 179 (67.8) 151 (58.3) 180 (67.7)
Otherc 19 (2.4) 7 (2.7) 8 (3.1) 4 (1.5)
Educational level
≤High school 107 (13.4) 33 (12.4) 36 (13.6) 38 (14.2)
Some college or vocational school 442 (55.4) 147 (55.3) 154 (58.3) 141 (52.6)
College graduate or higher degree 249 (31.2) 86 (32.3) 74 (28.0) 89 (33.2)
Married or domestic-partnered 455 (57.6) 156 (59.3) 147 (56.1) 152 (57.4)
Annual family income <$50 000 223 (34.7) 77 (36.3) 79 (36.1) 67 (31.6)
Pain-related characteristics
High-impact chronic pain 375 (47.2) 112 (42.3) 125 (47.4) 138 (51.9)
Received disability for pain 77 (9.8) 29 (11.0) 24 (9.2) 24 (9.1)
Radicular symptoms (sciatica) 544 (68.6) 163 (61.7) 186 (71.3) 195 (72.8)
Multiple musculoskeletal pain conditions (per EHR) 687 (85.9) 224 (84.2) 220 (83.0) 243 (90.3)
No. of musculoskeletal pain conditions (per EHR), mean (SD) 1.7 (1.1) 1.6 (1.1) 1.7 (1.2) 1.7 (1.0)
Long-term opioid therapy for pain condition 24 (3.8) 14 (6.8) 7 (3.3) 3 (1.4)
Other clinical characteristics
Medical morbidity (per Elixhauser Comorbidity Index [EHR], mean (SD) 2.5 (2.0) 2.4 (1.9) 2.6 (2.1) 2.5 (2.1)
Met frailty criteria 156 (20.3) 49 (19.1) 58 (22.8) 49 (19.2)
Depression diagnosis 119 (14.9) 40 (15.0) 42 (15.9) 37 (13.8)
Anxiety diagnosis 127 (15.9) 46 (17.3) 35 (13.2) 46 (17.1)
Baseline measures of the primary and secondary outcome scores
Back pain disability (RMDQ [modified]), mean (SD)d 13.2 (5.5) 12.9 (5.5) 13.5 (5.4) 13.2 (5.5)
Characteristic pain intensity, mean (SD)e 5.8 (2.0) 5.7 (1.9) 6.1 (1.9) 5.8 (2.0)
Composite pain severity (PEG), mean (SD)f 5.6 (2.2) 5.4 (2.2) 5.7 (2.1) 5.6 (2.2)
Physical functioning (PROMIS), mean (SD)g 38.2 (6.6) 38.3 (6.4) 38.2 (6.5) 38.1 (6.8)
Baseline measures of other tertiary and ad hoc outcomes
Social functioning (PROMIS), mean (SD)g 45.5 (8.3) 45.7 (8.2) 45.1 (8.3) 45.6 (8.5)
Depressive threshold symptoms (PHQ-2 [≥3])h 162 (20.8) 51 (19.7) 62 (24.0) 49 (18.8)
Anxiety threshold symptoms (GAD-2 subscale of PHQ-4 [≥3])i 173 (22.0) 53 (20.2) 63 (24.2) 57 (21.7)

Abbreviations:
EHR = electronic health record;
GAD-2 = General Anxiety Disorder 2-item scale;
PEG = pain intensity = interference with enjoyment of life = and interference with general activity;
PHQ-2 = Patient Health Questionnaire-2;
PHQ-4 = Personal Health Questionnaire-4;
PROMIS = Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System;
RMDQ = Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire.

a Data are presented as No. (%) of participants unless indicated otherwise. Some values may not sum to the total subsample owing to missing data.

b One person classified as female for stratification purposes self-identified as intersex.

c Includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and multiracial.

d Scores range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating greater functional limitation during the past week due to low back pain.

e A single-item numerical rating scale ranging from 0 to 10 in the past week, in which 10 is the worst pain.

f Scores range from 0 to 10 for each of the 3 areas (pain intensity, interference with enjoyment of life, and interference with general activity), with higher scores indicating worse impact.

g Subscales include physical functioning (T score ranging from 21 to 59) and social functioning (T score ranging from 27.5 to 64.2), with higher scores representing higher functioning (scores <40 indicate moderate impairment).

h Scores range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

i Scores range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater severity.