TABLE 1.
Demographic, Work, Clinical, and Health History Characteristics of D-RISC Workers Who Received Early MRI and Those Who Did Not
Early MRI (N = 362) Late/No MRI (N = 1468) P N (%) N (%) Demographics Age (at injury) 0.005 <24 yr 24 (6.6) 169 (11.5) 25–34 yr 79 (21.8) 387 (26.4) 35–44 yr 124 (34.3) 430 (29.3) 45–54 yr 101 (27.9) 331 (22.5) >55 yr 34 (9.4) 151 (10.3) Sex 0.031 Female 99 (27.3) 488 (33.2) Male 263 (72.7) 980 (66.8) Race 0.013 White 284 (78.5) 1040 (70.8) Nonwhite 76 (21.0) 412 (28.1) Ethnicity 0.367 Non-Hispanic 306 (84.5) 1202 (81.9) Hispanic 54 (14.9) 249 (17.0) Education 0.576 Less than high school 45 (12.4) 195 (13.3) High school diploma/GED 133 (36.7) 491 (33.4) Some college 159 (43.9) 648 (44.1) College degree 25 (6.9) 133 (9.1) Household income ($) 0.031 <30,000 123 (34.0) 605 (41.2) 30,000–45,000 96 (26.5) 362 (24.7) 45,001–70,000 94 (26.0) 315 (21.5) >70,000 41 (11.3) 131 (8.9) Marital status 0.113 Married 192 (53.0) 742 (50.5) Living with partner 52 (14.4) 205 (14.0) Divorced 78 (21.5) 278 (18.9) Other 40 (11.0) 240 (16.3) Health characteristics BMI 0.190 Normal, <25 96 (26.5) 453 (30.9) Overweight, 25–29 142 (39.2) 560 (38.1) Obese, 30–34 80 (22.1) 293 (20.0) Very obese, >34 39 (10.8) 124 (8.4) Health in year before injury 0.730 Excellent 90 (24.9) 330 (22.5) Very good 125 (34.5) 537 (36.6) Good 107 (29.6) 447 (30.4) Fair/poor 40 (11.0) 151 (10.3) SF-36 mental health score* <0.001 2 SD below population mean 84 (23.2) 184 (12.5) 1–2 SD below population mean 105 (29.0) 289 (19.7) 1 SD below population mean 101 (27.9) 361 (24.6) At or above population mean 72 (19.9) 632 (43.1) Catastrophizing† (0–4) <0.001 Low (<1) 43 (11.9) 379 (25.8) Moderate (1–2.9) 188 (51.9) 793 (54.0) High (3–4) 131 (36.2) 296 (20.2) Work fear-avoidance‡ (0–6) <0.001 Low (0–2.9) 34 (9.4) 332 (22.6) Moderate (3–4.9) 91 (25.1) 497 (33.9) High (5–5.9) 143 (39.5) 405 (27.6) Very high (6) 94 (26.0) 234 (15.9) Clinical characteristics Type of first medical visit <0.001 Primary care 177 (48.9) 635 (43.3) Occupational medicine 18 (5.0) 41 (2.8) Chiropractor 71 (19.6) 488 (33.2) Surgeon 13 (3.6) 26 (1.8) Emergency room/clinic 75 (20.7) 254 (17.3) Other 8 (2.2) 24 (1.6) Work characteristics Offered job accommodation for disability <0.001 Yes 131 (36.2) 704 (48.0) No 224 (61.9) 748 (51.0) More than 1 previous compensable back claims 0.008 Yes 89 (24.6) 268 (18.3) No 273 (75.4) 1190 (81.1) Job satisfaction 0.563 Not at all 16 (4.4) 87 (5.9) Not too satisfied 30 (8.3) 131 (8.9) Somewhat satisfied 160 (44.2) 604 (41.1) Very satisfied 156 (43.1) 642 (43.7) Industry 0.043 Natural resources 10 (2.8) 80 (5.4) Construction 72 (19.9) 253 (17.2) Manufacturing 40 (11.0) 108 (7.4) Trade/transportation 80 (22.1) 366 (24.9) Management 65 (18.0) 232 (15.8) Education/health 51 (14.1) 230 (15.7) Hospitality 44 (12.2) 199 (13.6) Physical demands at work 0.010 Light 58 (16.0) 308 (21.0) Medium 112 (30.9) 470 (32.0) Heavy 80 (22.1) 354 (24.1) Very heavy 108 (29.8) 330 (22.5) Injury characteristics Health status at the time of interview 0.300 Excellent 70 (19.3) 290 (19.8) Very good 123 (34.0) 531 (36.2) Good 121 (33.4) 466 (31.7) Fair/poor 46 (12.7) 180 (12.3) Pain intensity the last week§ <0.001 Low/no pain (0–3) 38 (10.5) 409 (27.9) Moderate (4–6) 105 (29.0) 381 (26.0) High (7–10) 219 (60.5) 675 (46.0) Roland-Morris disability questionnaire score¶ <0.001 ≤6 13 (3.6) 412 (28.1) 7–12 48 (13.3) 336 (22.9) 13–18 120 (33.1) 408 (27.8) ≥18 181 (50.0) 312 (21.3) Medical record documented injury severity rating <0.001 Mild sprain/strain and/or minor physical examination findings 98 (27.1) 906 (61.7) Major sprain/strain evidenced by substantial immobility 69 (19.1) 308 (21.0) Evidence of radiculopathy or reflexes absent 193 (53.3) 246 (16.8) Frequency counts do not always sum to total because of missing responses or rounding.
Values are N (%) and P values indicate χ2 tests.
*SF-36v2 MH, short form-36 version 2 mental health scale.24,25
†Mean of responses to 3 questions from the Pain Catastrophizing scale.22
‡Mean of responses to 2 questions from the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire work scale.23
§Any pain in the last week, scale ranges from 0 to 10.27
¶Roland-Morris disability questionnaire measures physical functioning relating to back pain.28,29
MRI indicates magnetic resonance imaging;
BMI, body mass index;
SF-36, 36-Item Short Form Health Survey;
D-RISC, Disability Risk Identification Study Cohort;
GED, general education diploma;
SD, standard deviation.