Demographic factors and health measures describing the study population stratified by pain pattern subgroup
| LBP subgroups based on clinical presentation (n=970) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back dominant pain aggravated by flexion (P1) (n=405; 42%) | Back dominant pain aggravated by extension (P2) (n=301; 31%) | Constant leg dominant pain (P3) (n=164; 17%) | Intermittent leg dominant pain (P4) (n=100; 10%) | p Value* | |
| Demographic factors | |||||
| Sex (% female) | 59 | 61 | 46 | 46 | 0.001 |
| Mean age (range) | 46.2±14.4 (18–85) | 51.6±16.6 (18–93) | 47.4±13.3, (19–85) | 62.9±14.1 (31–92) | <0.001 |
| Age groups (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| 18–29 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 0 | |
| 30–39 | 23 | 16 | 24 | 6 | |
| 40–49 | 24 | 18 | 29 | 12 | |
| 50–59 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 22 | |
| 60+ | 20 | 34 | 20 | 60 | |
| Mean body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.4±5.5 | 27.6±6.3 | 28.1±6.0 | 28.4±5.5 | <0.001 |
| Body mass index categories (%) | 0.004 | ||||
| Normal weight (<25) | 47 | 41 | 32 | 24 | |
| Overweight (25–29.9) | 33 | 30 | 41 | 46 | |
| Obese (≥30) | 20 | 29 | 27 | 31 | |
| Health measures | |||||
| Mean number of chronic conditions (range) | 1.0±1.3 (0–11) | 1.4±1.5 (0–10) | 1.0±1.3 (0–5) | 1.9±1.8 (0–7) | <0.001 |
| History of back problems (% yes) | 58 | 50 | 59 | 59 | 0.141 |
| Mean Oswestry per cent disability† | 33.3±17.2 | 33.7±17.7 | 44.4±19.1 | 38.2±17.8 | <0.001 |
| Mean EuroQol-5D summary score‡ | 66.0±21.4 | 65.5±20.3 | 56.9±22.7 | 61.6±20.0 | <0.001 |
Data presented as mean±SD where indicated.
*p Value for χ2, analysis of variance or Fisher's exact test where appropriate.
†Higher percentage indicates greater disability.
‡Scores decreasing from 100 indicate poorer health-related quality of life.
LBP, low back pain.