Patients’ demographic data and clinical characteristics by groups
| Characteristic | bTENS | cTENS | pTENS | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | |||||
| Mean ± SD | 45.6 ± 9.4 | 43.2 ± 12.8 | 40.8 ± 11.5 | 43.3 ± 11.3 | 0.346 |
| Median | 45.0 | 43.0 | 40.0 | 44.0 | |
| Min-Max | 24.0-64.0 | 24.0-63.0 | 20.0-64.0 | 20.0-64.0 | |
| Sex (%) | |||||
| Female | 16 (64.0) | 13 (52.0) | 18 (78.0) | 47 (64.4) | 0.165 |
| Male | 9 (36.0) | 12 (48.0) | 5 (22.0) | 26 (35.6) | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | |||||
| Mean ± SD | 28.6 ± 4.8 | 27.4 ± 4.1 | 29.9 ± 4.6 | 28.6 ± 4.6 | 0.173 |
| Median | 28.1 | 26.0 | 29.3 | 28.6 | |
| Min-Max | 20.5-39.5 | 21.7-37.8 | 22.0-40.5 | 20.5-40.5 | |
| Occupation (%) | |||||
| Retired | 2 (8.0) | 3 (12.0) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (7.0) | |
| Housewife | 12 (48.0) | 9 (36.0) | 11 (48.0) | 32 (44.0) | |
| Manual worker | 5 (20.0) | 5 (20.0) | 5 (22.0) | 15 (20.0) | |
| Clerical worker | 1 (4.0) | 1 (4.0) | 3 (13.0) | 5 (7.0) | |
| Student | 0 (0.0) | 1 (4.0) | 1 (4.0) | 2 (3.0) | |
| Other | 5 (20.0) | 6 (24.0) | 3 (13.0) | 3 (4.0) |
TENS: transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, bTENS: burst TENS, cTENS: conventional TENS, pTENS: placebo TENS, SD: standard deviation, Min: minimum, Max: maximum, BMI: body mass index.
aKruskal–Wallis test, analysis of variance test.