TABLE 1.
Demographic and Baseline Clinical Characteristics
| Variable | Patients (N = 35,861) | Total Pain Episodes (N = 70,716) | Episodes by Pain Severity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mild (n = 40,697) | Moderate (n = 16,550) | Severe (n = 13,469) | |||
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 66.5 (12.6) | 67.4 (12.5) | 69.0 (12.0)a,b | 65.3 (12.5)c | 64.9 (12.9) |
| Age group, years, n (%) | a,b | ||||
| 18-35 | 390 (1.1) | 616 (0.9) | 234 (0.6) | 186 (1.1) | 196 (1.5) |
| 36-40 | 453 (1.3) | 796 (1.1) | 287 (0.7) | 281 (1.7) | 228 (1.7) |
| 41-50 | 2,772 (7.7) | 4,907 (6.9) | 2,171 (5.3) | 1,415 (8.6) | 1,321 (9.8) |
| 51-64 | 11,938 (33.3) | 22,842 (32.3) | 11,803 (29.0) | 6,141 (37.1) | 4,898 (36.4) |
| 65-74 | 9,917 (27.7) | 19,424 (27.5) | 11,682 (28.7) | 4,300 26.0) | 3,442 (25.6) |
| ≥ 75 | 10,391 (29.0) | 22,131 (31.3) | 14,520 (35.7) | 4,227 (25.5) | 3,384 (25.1) |
| Female, n (%) | 23,199 (64.7) | 47,259 (66.8) | 26,244 (64.5)a,b | 11,234 (67.9)b | 9,781 (72.6) |
| Race, n (%) | a,b | b | |||
| Caucasian | 29,985 (83.6) | 59,640 (84.3) | 35,751 (87.9) | 13,754 (83.1) | 10,135 (75.3) |
| African American | 4,241 (11.8) | 8,395 (11.9) | 3,604 (8.9) | 2,116 (12.8) | 2,675 (19.9) |
| Other/unknown | 1,635 (4.6) | 2,681 (3.8) | 1,342 (3.3) | 680 (4.1) | 659 (4.9) |
| Ethnicity | a,b | b | |||
| Hispanic | 1,043 (2.9) | 2,025 (2.9) | 887 (2.2) | 532 (3.2) | 606 (4.5) |
| Not Hispanic | 32,912 (91.8) | 65,923 (93.2) | 38,411 (94.4) | 15,280 (92.3) | 12,232 (90.8) |
| Unknown | 1,906 (5.3) | 2,768 (3.9) | 1,399 (3.4) | 738 (4.5) | 631 (4.7) |
| Region, n (%) | a,b | b | |||
| Northeast | 1,908 (5.3) | 3,274 (4.6) | 1,750 (4.3) | 822 (5.0) | 702 (5.2) |
| Midwest | 20,312 (56.6) | 43,720 (61.8) | 27,552 (67.7) | 9,346 (56.5) | 6,822 (50.7) |
| South | 11,415 (31.8) | 19,472 (27.5) | 9,037 (22.2) | 5,331 (32.2) | 5,104 (37.9) |
| West | 2,218 (6.2) | 4,237 (6.0) | 2,352 (5.8) | 1,047 (6.3) | 838 (6.2) |
| Other | 8 (< 0.1) | 13 (< 0.1) | 6 (< 0.1) | 4 (< 0.1) | 3 (< 0.1) |
| Insurance type, n (%) | a,b | b | |||
| Commercial | 15,664 (43.7) | 28,631 (40.5) | 15,341 (37.7) | 7,714 (46.6) | 5,576 (41.4) |
| Medicare | 20,197 (56.3) | 42,085 (59.5) | 25,356 (62.3) | 8,836 (53.4) | 7,893 (58.6) |
| Integrated delivery network, n (%) | a,b | b | |||
| Yes | 30,206 (84.2) | 61,673 (87.2) | 36,628 (90.0) | 14,151 (85.5) | 10,894 (80.9) |
| No | 5,655 (15.8) | 9,043 (12.8) | 4,069 (10.0) | 2,399 (14.5) | 2,575 (19.1) |
| Body mass index, mean (SD), n | 32.2 (8.0), 45,350 | 31.9 (7.8), 26,771a,b | 32.7 (8.1), 10,630 | 32.9 (8.6), 7,949 | |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score, mean (SD) | – | 0.51 (1.03) | 0.54 (1.07)a | 0.46 (0.96)c | 0.51 (1.01) |
| Baseline opioid use, n (%) | 26,162 (37.0) | 12,444 (30.6)a,b | 7,196 (43.5)b | 6,522 (48.4) | |
| Long-acting opioid | – | 2,553 (3.6) | 814 (2.0)a,b | 863 (5.2)c | 876 (6.5) |
| Short-acting opioid | – | 25,750 (36.4) | 12,286 (30.2)a,b | 7,066 (42.7)b | 6,398 (47.5) |
aP < 0.001 versus moderate.
bP < 0.001 versus severe.
cP < 0.05 versus severe.
SD = standard deviation.