Table 2

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of the Final Cohort (N = 40,929)

CharacteristicsFrequency%
Age, mean (standard deviation)41.45 (12.61)NA

Age categories

 18-24 y504712.33
 25-29 y419510.25
 30-39 y965923.60
 40-49 y948423.17
 50-59 y983424.03
 60-63 y27106.62

 Sex

 Male14 53135.50
 Female26 39864.50

Payer type

 Commercial32 72079.94
 Medicaid815219.92
 Both commercial and Medicaid570.14

Mental health disorders

 Mood disorders10 70626.16
 Schizophrenia11232.74
 Anxiety disorders10 81626.43
 Personality disorders6081.49
 Acute reaction to stress3610.88
 Adjustment disorders13623.33

Substance use disorder

 Tobacco use disorder854220.87
 Opioid misuse disorder4281.05
 Other substance use disorder21235.19
 Obesity856520.93
 Diabetes671216.40

Charlson Comorbidity Index

 029 77872.76
 1760618.58
 218664.56
 ≥316794.10

Year of index diagnosis

 2013458211.19
 201413 02231.82
 201510 45325.54
 2016872121.31
 2017415110.14

Opioid use within the first 14 d of index date

 No opioid use28 74770.24
 Any opioid use12 18229.76

Opioid use in the 1-y follow-up

 No opioid use18 68645.65
 Any opioid use22 24354.35
 Long-term opioid usea18054.41
 Long-term opioid useb19514.77

Days’ supply among opioid users in the 1-y follow-up period

 1-2 d18638.38
 3-4 d538224.20
 5-7 d696331.30
 8-10 d361016.23
 11-14 d4792.15
 15-21 d16587.45
 ≥22 d228810.29

Type of opioid among opioid users in the 1-y follow-up period

 Schedule II long acting510.23
 Other Schedule II short acting2180.98
 Oxycodone short acting17667.94
 Hydrocodone short acting10 89448.98
 Schedule III-IV and nalbuphine285312.83
 Tramadol646129.05

Pharmacologic use in the baseline period

 NSAIDs761918.62
 Benzodiazepines552913.51
 Skeletal muscle relaxant35858.76
 Oral steroids499412.20

Lumbar procedures (within the first 30 d of index date)

 Lumbar radiographs14 08534.41
 Lumbar advanced imaging (MRI or CT)39020.53
 Lumbar injections3010.74
 Physician office visits with low back pain diagnosis (within the first 30 d of index date)36 04188.06
 ED visit with low back pain diagnosis (within the first 30 d of index date)471911.53

CT, computed tomography; ED, emergency department; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; NA, not applicable; NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

aPrimary long-term opioid use definition.

bSensitivity long-term opioid use definition.

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