Table 2
Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of patients (n = 95).
| Variable | Valuea | Missing Data |
|---|---|---|
|
| ||
| Age, mean (SD) | 48.7 (16.1) | 1 |
|
| ||
| Sex (female) | 52 (54.7) | 0 |
|
| ||
| Smoker | 38 (40.4) | 1 |
|
| ||
| In paid employment | 32 (34) | 1 |
|
| ||
| If employed, time off work for current back pain episode: | 7 | |
| 1–2 days | 5 (20) b | |
| 3–7 days | 7 (28) b | |
| 1–3 weeks | 1 (4) b | |
| > 3 weeks | 9 (36) b | |
|
| ||
| Same or similar condition in the past | 73 (78.5) | 2 |
|
| ||
| Pain-free for a whole month in the past six months | 18 (19) | 0 |
|
| ||
| Duration of current back pain episode: | 2 | |
| < 1 week | 5 (5.4) | |
| 1–4 weeks | 14 (15.1) | |
| 1–3 months | 22 (23.7) | |
| > 3 months | 52 (55.9) | |
|
| ||
| Constant pain | 65 (68.4) | 0 |
|
| ||
| Limited usual activities > one day | 83 (90.2) | 3 |
|
| ||
| Medication on a daily basis for back pain | 60 (65.2) | 3 |
|
| ||
| Other practitioner use | 62 (66.7) | 2 |
|
| ||
| Expectation of recovery/improvement | 75 (84.3) | 6 |
|
| ||
| Physically active in comparison to others | 47 (51.1) | 3 |
|
| ||
| In good general health | 59 (62.8) | 1 |
|
| ||
| EQ-5D VAS, mean (SD) | 54.1 (57.9) | 14 |
|
| ||
| EQ-5D Index c, mean (SD) | 0.50 (0.24) | 3 |
VAS = visual analogue scale. aValues are expressed as the number (%) unless otherwise noted.
bPercentage values are calculated from the total number employed in the sample with complete data (i.e. 25).
cSingle imputation methods (i.e. mean values) were used for missing EQ-5D data.