Baseline characteristics for all cohorts
| Non-specific back pain | Specific back pain | Osteoarthritis | ||||
| Control N=3.051 | Intervention N=21.247 | Control N=4.739 | Intervention N=31.269 | Control N=1.128 | Intervention N=23.042 | |
| Age (mean (SD)) | 60.5 (15.8) | 60.5 (14.8) | 62.9 (15.0) | 63.3 (13.8) | 71.7 (11.4) | 68.9 (11.2) |
| Sex (female) | 59.2% | 65.5% | 62.7% | 64.7% | 66.0% | 66.3% |
| Level of care >0 (%) | 2.7 | 2.2 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 6.9 | 3.6 |
| CCI (mean (SD)) | 1.1 (1.6) | 1.6 (1.9) | 1.3 (1.8) | 1.8 (2.1) | 1.6 (1.9) | 2.2 (2.2) |
| Participation in disease management programme for type 2 diabetes | 12.0% | 17.2% | 12.5% | 19.7% | 16.0% | 24.4% |
| Cardiovascular comorbidities | 53.4% | 58.4% | 59.1% | 65.1% | 77.2% | 76.7% |
| Type 2 diabetes | 18.7% | 21.1% | 20.6% | 24.1% | 27.2% | 29.5% |
| Stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases | 1.3% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.8% |
| Malignancy | 8.1% | 11.6% | 10.6% | 13.0% | 14.6% | 16.0% |
| Obesity | 20.2% | 21.6% | 20.5% | 24.1% | 27.9% | 28.9% |
| Depression | 21.9% | 32.1% | 24.7% | 35.1% | 21.9% | 34.3% |
| Smoking | 6.0% | 6.7% | 6.3% | 6.6% | 3.9% | 4.8% |
| Psychosocial risk factors | 1.6% | 1.4% | 2.1% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 1.4% |
| Burnout | 8.1% | 6.4% | 8.7% | 6.9% | 5.7% | 5.5% |
| Somatoform disorders | 15.6% | 20.0% | 17.2% | 22.2% | 14.3% | 21.3% |
| MDPTO score (mean (SD)) | 3.4 (1.7) | 3.7 (1.7) | 3.6 (1.6) | 4.0 (1.7) | 3.7 (1.8) | 4.1 (1.8) |
T-test for count and continuous variables, Χ2 test for binary variables.
MDPTO score: a non-standardised score we developed and used in the model to approximate the level of musculoskeletal disease prior to the observation period. The score takes into account the following factors during the pre-observation period: hospitalisation related to musculoskeletal disorders, diagnosis of musculoskeletal disease, sickness certificate for musculoskeletal disorders, prescription of physical therapy or aids and appliances and prescription of opioids.
CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; MDPTO, musculoskeletal-disorder-prior-to-observation.