Table 1.
Characteristics of participants with chronic back problems and those who consulted health professionals: Pooled analysis of CCHS 2001–2010a.
| Consultations with health care professionals among Canadians with chronic back problems |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Canadians with chronic back problems |
Medical doctor (incl. specialists) |
Chiropractor |
Physiotherapist |
Nurse |
| N (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Weighted sample | 5,177,667 (100.0%) | 4526363 (100.0%) | 1241766 (100.0%) | 890651 (100.0%) | 721282 (100.0%) |
| Age group (years) | |||||
| 12–19 | 153438 (3.0%) | 125209 (2.8%) | 47066 (3.8%) | 28947 (3.3%) | 24962 (3.5%) |
| 20–34 | 968514 (18.7%) | 812281 (17.9%) | 269312 (21.7%) | 173950 (19.5%) | 167283 (23.2%) |
| 35–49 | 1626494 (31.4%) | 1379564 (30.5%) | 447672 (36.1%) | 306642 (34.4%) | 211681 (29.3%) |
| 50–64 | 1460551 (28.2%) | 1308727 (28.9%) | 331597 (26.7%) | 248698 (27.9%) | 175153 (24.3%) |
| 65–79 | 753250 (14.5%) | 699565 (15.5%) | 123002 (9.9%) | 106262 (11.9%) | 98022 (13.6%) |
| ≥80 | 215419 (4.2%) | 201017 (4.4%) | 23117 (1.9%) | 26151 (2.9%) | 44181 (6.1%) |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 2438085 (47.1%) | 2013342 (44.5%) | 588977 (47.4%) | 389595 (43.7%) | 275162 (38.1%) |
| Female | 2739582 (52.9%) | 2513021 (55.5%) | 652789 (52.6%) | 501056 (56.3%) | 446120 (61.9%) |
| Province of residence | |||||
| Newfoundland | 84353 (1.6%) | 77341 (1.7%) | 10040 (0.8%) | 12048 (1.4%) | 11555 (1.6%) |
| Prince Edward Island | 21198 (0.4%) | 18993 (0.4%) | 2249 (0.2%) | 3695 (0.4%) | 2883 (0.4%) |
| Nova Scotia | 168551 (3.3%) | 153705 (3.4%) | 19314 (1.6%) | 31587 (3.5%) | 20355 (2.8%) |
| New Brunswick | 129342 (2.5%) | 115795 (2.6%) | 16388 (1.3%) | 21628 (2.4%) | 18547 (2.6%) |
| Quebec | 1056063 (20.4%) | 885565 (19.6%) | 189526 (15.3%) | 165162 (18.5%) | 197753 (27.4%) |
| Ontario | 2066139 (39.9%) | 1828734 (40.4%) | 495368 (39.9%) | 334286 (37.5%) | 272115 (37.7%) |
| Manitoba | 180427 (3.5%) | 155209 (3.4%) | 62197 (5.0%) | 34326 (3.9%) | 22581 (3.1%) |
| Saskatchewan | 161018 (3.1%) | 142343 (3.1%) | 50890 (4.1%) | 25927 (2.9%) | 20767 (2.9%) |
| Alberta | 531226 (10.3%) | 460435 (10.2%) | 181675 (14.6%) | 101540 (11.4%) | 67923 (9.4%) |
| British Columbia | 766805 (14.8%) | 678097 (15.0%) | 212221 (17.1%) | 158228 (17.8%) | 82749 (11.5%) |
| Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut | 12545 (0.2%) | 10146 (0.2%) | 1901 (0.2%) | 2225 (0.2%) | 4053 (0.6%) |
| Cultural/racial background | |||||
| White | 4360237 (84.2%) | 3822806 (84.5%) | 1092830 (88.0%) | 737787 (82.8%) | 624629 (86.6%) |
| Non-white | 675691 (13.1%) | 586093 (12.9%) | 124226 (10.0%) | 128547 (14.4%) | 77099 (10.7%) |
| Unknown | 141738 (2.7%) | 117464 (2.6%) | 24710 (2.0%) | 24317 (2.7%) | 19554 (2.7%) |
| Immigrant status | |||||
| Non-immigrant | 4038148 (78.0%) | 3518140 (77.7%) | 1034807 (83.3%) | 687048 (77.1%) | 605343 (83.9%) |
| Immigrant (0–9 years) | 171453 (3.3%) | 147083 (3.2%) | 29401 (2.4%) | 33412 (3.8%) | 15476 (2.1%) |
| Immigrant (≥10 years) | 845610 (16.3%) | 760598 (16.8%) | 157006 (12.6%) | 149763 (16.8%) | 83938 (11.6%) |
| Unknown | 122456 (2.4%) | 100541 (2.2%) | 20551 (1.7%) | 20427 (2.3%) | 16526 (2.3%) |
| Highest level of education | |||||
| Less than secondary | 1165673 (22.5%) | 1011138 (22.3%) | 201898 (16.3%) | 147950 (16.6%) | 156275 (21.7%) |
| Secondary graduate | 850607 (16.4%) | 735072 (16.2%) | 210912 (17.0%) | 133909 (15.0%) | 106732 (14.8%) |
| Some post-seconday education | 404047 (7.8%) | 354856 (7.8%) | 108037 (8.7%) | 69984 (7.9%) | 62387 (8.6%) |
| Post-secondary grad/university degree | 2629333 (50.8%) | 2320633 (51.3%) | 700893 (56.4%) | 516862 (58.0%) | 379318 (52.6%) |
| Unknown | 128008 (2.5%) | 104664 (2.3%) | 20027 (1.6%) | 21944 (2.5%) | 16571 (2.3%) |
| Total household income | |||||
| 1st quintile | 695108 (13.4%) | 610630 (13.5%) | 94321 (7.6%) | 90187 (10.1%) | 116315 (16.1%) |
| 2nd quintile | 689621 (13.3%) | 603827 (13.3%) | 140445 (11.3%) | 106885 (12.0%) | 100142 (13.9%) |
| 3rd quintile | 906331 (17.5%) | 799761 (17.7%) | 221402 (17.8%) | 148084 (16.6%) | 125532 (17.4%) |
| 4th quintile | 1104385 (21.3%) | 962282 (21.3%) | 309700 (24.9%) | 206286 (23.2%) | 142809 (19.8%) |
| 5th quintile | 1033120 (20.0%) | 906477 (20.0%) | 317388 (25.6%) | 217155 (24.4%) | 134365 (18.6%) |
| NA/NSb | 749101 (14.5%) | 643385 (14.2%) | 158510 (12.8%) | 122054 (13.7%) | 102120 (14.2%) |
| Working status last week | |||||
| Working | 2753985 (53.2%) | 2333258 (51.5%) | 797090 (64.2%) | 479954 (53.9%) | 324307 (45.0%) |
| Absent | 258068 (5.0%) | 230943 (5.1%) | 71966 (5.8%) | 71471 (8.0%) | 50939 (7.1%) |
| No job | 1348962 (26.1%) | 1213741 (26.8%) | 257697 (20.8%) | 212287 (23.8%) | 197742 (27.4%) |
| Unable/permanent | 256875 (5.0%) | 244287 (5.4%) | 31433 (2.5%) | 46789 (5.3%) | 55182 (7.7%) |
| NA (age <15 or >75)b | 457744 (8.8%) | 420063 (9.3%) | 64966 (5.2%) | 61749 (6.9%) | 80798 (11.2%) |
| Unknown | 102033 (2.0%) | 84071 (1.9%) | 18614 (1.5%) | 18401 (2.1%) | 12313 (1.7%) |
| Marital status | |||||
| Married | 2809757 (54.3%) | 2496604 (55.2%) | 704692 (56.7%) | 491456 (55.2%) | 339439 (47.1%) |
| Common-law | 515814 (10.0%) | 426850 (9.4%) | 126402 (10.2%) | 87120 (9.8%) | 80845 (11.2%) |
| Widowed/Divorced/Separated | 827494 (16.0%) | 749504 (16.6%) | 153500 (12.4%) | 130003 (14.6%) | 131856 (18.3%) |
| Single | 1016061 (19.6%) | 846423 (18.7%) | 255407 (20.6%) | 180639 (20.3%) | 168040 (23.3%) |
| Unknown | 8540 (0.2%) | 6982 (0.2%) | 1765 (0.1%) | 1432 (0.2%) | 1102 (0.2%) |
| Type of smoker | |||||
| Daily | 1180476 (22.8%) | 988027 (21.8%) | 226332 (18.2%) | 166314 (18.7%) | 167293 (23.2%) |
| Occasional | 242317 (4.7%) | 207575 (4.6%) | 61874 (5.0%) | 40366 (4.5%) | 37291 (5.2%) |
| Not at all | 3736084 (72.2%) | 3315522 (73.2%) | 949823 (76.5%) | 680707 (76.4%) | 514355 (71.3%) |
| Unknown | 18789 (0.4%) | 15238 (0.3%) | 3736 (0.3%) | 3264 (0.4%) | 2344 (0.3%) |
| Type of alcohol drinker | |||||
| Regular | 3086270 (59.6%) | 2664000 (58.9%) | 815941 (65.7%) | 553295 (62.1%) | 398377 (55.2%) |
| Occasional | 942035 (18.2%) | 840294 (18.6%) | 216226 (17.4%) | 154575 (17.4%) | 143954 (20.0%) |
| Did not drink | 1070831 (20.7%) | 957915 (21.2%) | 195220 (15.7%) | 169853 (19.1%) | 169068 (23.4%) |
| Unknown | 78531 (1.5%) | 64153 (1.4%) | 14379 (1.2%) | 12927 (1.5%) | 9883 (1.4%) |
| Physical activity | |||||
| Active | 1084632 (20.9%) | 929654 (20.5%) | 301144 (24.3%) | 217750 (24.4%) | 151049 (20.9%) |
| Moderate active | 1182652 (22.8%) | 1043926 (23.1%) | 314808 (25.4%) | 216813 (24.3%) | 162665 (22.6%) |
| Inactive | 2740793 (52.9%) | 2403453 (53.1%) | 595892 (48.0%) | 428613 (48.1%) | 381677 (52.9%) |
| Unknown | 169590 (3.3%) | 149331 (3.3%) | 29923 (2.4%) | 27475 (3.1%) | 25892 (3.6%) |
| BMIc | |||||
| Underweight | 133840 (2.6%) | 118892 (2.6%) | 26602 (2.1%) | 23716 (2.7%) | 22094 (3.1%) |
| Normal weight | 1900439 (36.7%) | 1638081 (36.2%) | 462199 (37.2%) | 341051 (38.3%) | 258428 (35.8%) |
| Overweight (incl. obese) | 2626192 (50.7%) | 2317354 (51.2%) | 636533 (51.3%) | 442140 (49.6%) | 352911 (48.9%) |
| NA (age<18 or pregnant)b | 331682 (6.4%) | 288364 (6.4%) | 80259 (6.5%) | 56296 (6.3%) | 52726 (7.3%) |
| Unknown | 185515 (3.6%) | 163672 (3.6%) | 36173 (2.9%) | 27448 (3.1%) | 35123 (4.9%) |
| Perceived general health | |||||
| Poor | 355517 (6.9%) | 337329 (7.5%) | 48015 (3.9%) | 72971 (8.2%) | 87556 (12.1%) |
| Fair | 834648 (16.1%) | 773144 (17.1%) | 144947 (11.7%) | 145416 (16.3%) | 144038 (20.0%) |
| Good | 1745341 (33.7%) | 1533808 (33.9%) | 415934 (33.5%) | 298906 (33.6%) | 232624 (32.3%) |
| Very good | 1610222 (31.1%) | 1375292 (30.4%) | 447410 (36.0%) | 269426 (30.3%) | 192390 (26.7%) |
| Excellent | 625295 (12.1%) | 501447 (11.1%) | 184323 (14.8%) | 102667 (11.5%) | 63545 (8.8%) |
| Unknown | 6645 (0.1%) | 5343 (0.1%) | 1136 (0.1%) | 1265 (0.1%) | 1129 (0.2%) |
| CCHS survey cycle | |||||
| 2001 | 905678 (17.5%) | 802508 (17.7%) | 234444 (18.9%) | 161442 (18.1%) | 109379 (15.2%) |
| 2003 | 1043833 (20.2%) | 906309 (20.0%) | 250440 (20.2%) | 166935 (18.7%) | 136984 (19.0%) |
| 2005 | 1017931 (19.7%) | 882461 (19.5%) | 244313 (19.7%) | 170283 (19.1%) | 144558 (20.0%) |
| 2007 | 1129597 (21.8%) | 981872 (21.7%) | 257370 (20.7%) | 191145 (21.5%) | 164222 (22.8%) |
| 2009 | 1080627 (20.9%) | 953213 (21.1%) | 255199 (20.6%) | 200844 (22.6%) | 166139 (23.0%) |
BMI – body mass index; CCHS – Canadian Community Health Survey; NA – not applicable; NS – not stated.
a
Weighted using Canadian Community Health Survey sampling weights provided by Statistics Canada to provide population estimates.
b
NA = not applicable according to population exclusions; NS = not stated or responses without enough information for classification.
c
BMI = BMI categories based on classification system recommended by Health Canada and the World Health Organization.