The majority of Norwegian patients with treatment-resistant chronic pain regained normal national health standards within 12 months after De-Qi acupuncture - A prospective observational propensity score matched study

Veronika Lindberg ^1* Jan Baak MD PhD FICP FRCPath, FIAChon, MScTCM ²

• ¹ Department of Statistics, Lintech AS, Kristiansand, Norway
• ² Department of Quantitative and Molecular Pathology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway

Purpose: In previous studies, acupuncture was effective in the treatment of patients with chronic pain that was unresponsive to conventional therapies. However, the proportion of patients in a real-world setting who regain normal health after 1 year, following De-Qi acupuncture is unknown.Methods: This is an observational prospective study of 354 new patients in a family medical practice between 2015-2018. Patients self-assessed pain using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and health using the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) before treatment and at 3- and 12-months of follow-up. VAS and SF-36 components were compared for improvements and therapeutic effect sizes. Propensity score matching was employed to avoid bias by confounding variables.Results: The participation rate was 29%, median age 50 years (range 20–79), 65% were females, median pain duration was 18 months (6–360), the median number of acupuncture treatments was 6 (1–27). The initial VAS pain intensity of 6.2 (SD 2.5) improved to 4.0 at 3 months and 3.2 at 12 months (p<.001, large effect size); SF-36 scores also improved. 75% of patients showed strong responses, with 58% reaching complete cure and 17% achieving near-normal health. Patients aged >65 responded well and ≥6 treatments were associated with stronger responses than 1–5. Hill criteria analysis of improvements with acupuncture suggested causation over association.Conclusion: In patients with chronic pain (median 18 months), who were unresponsive to conventional treatments, De-Qi acupuncture was associated with sustained pain reduction and health improvements. Most attained Norwegian national normal health standards (complete cure) after 12-months.