Efficacy of electroacupuncture for cervical spondylosis-related pain in patients with generalized anxiety disorder

Table 1 Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of study participants (n = 83), mean ± SD/n (%)

Characteristic	Value
Age (years)	48.6 ± 9.7
Female sex	51 (61.4)
BMI (kg/m²)	24.3 ± 3.5
Duration of CS symptoms (years)	4.3 ± 2.8
Duration of GAD diagnosis (years)	3.1 ± 2.2
Radiological findings
Disc degeneration	83 (100)
Foraminal stenosis	62 (74.7)
Facet joint arthropathy	48 (57.8)
Uncovertebral joint arthropathy	37 (44.6)
Baseline VAS score	6.8 ± 1.4
Baseline NDI score	28.3 ± 6.2
Baseline HAM-A score	21.6 ± 5.3
Baseline GAD-7 score	14.2 ± 3.8
Neuroinflammatory markers
IL-6 (pg/mL)	3.42 ± 1.18
TNF-α (pg/mL)	8.76 ± 2.53
hs-CRP (mg/L)	2.83 ± 1.17
Concurrent medications
SSRIs/SNRIs	58 (69.9)
Benzodiazepines	45 (54.2)
NSAIDs	61 (73.5)
Muscle relaxants	42 (50.6)
Treatment adherence (%), median (IQR)	91.7 (83.3-95.8)

BMI: Body mass index; CS: Cervical spondylosis; GAD: Generalized anxiety disorder; VAS: Visual analog scale; NDI: Neck disability index; HAM-A: Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; GAD-7: Generalized anxiety disorder 7-item scale; IL-6: Interleukin-6; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; hs-CRP: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein; SSRIs: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; SNRIs: Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors; NSAIDs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; IQR: Interquartile range.