Table 2.
Frequency distribution of the sociodemographic and work-related characteristics by main and supplementary independent variables.
| Characteristic | History of work-related low back injury | History of time off or light duties due to work-related low back injury | ||
| Yes | No | Yes | No | |
| Age – mean (SD) | 45.6 (12.6) | 43.9 (13.5) | 46.7 (12.5) | 43.8 (13.4) |
| Male gender – N (%) | 242 (58.6) | 267 (39.7) | 169 (62.1) | 339 (41.9) |
| Marital status – N (%) | ||||
| Married/Common law | 312 (76.3) | 498 (74.7) | 205 (76.2) | 604 (75.2) |
| Divorced/Separated | 37 (9.1) | 46 (6.9) | 24 (8.9) | 57 (7.1) |
| Widowed | 8 (2.0) | 21 (3.2) | 7 (2.6) | 22 (2.7) |
| Single | 52 (12.7) | 102 (15.3) | 33 (12.3) | 120 (14.9) |
| Location of residence – N (%) | ||||
| Urban | 135 (32.8) | 259 (38.5) | 85 (31.4) | 308 (38.1) |
| Rural | 277 (67.2) | 413 (61.5) | 186 (68.6) | 501 (61.9) |
| Annual household income – N (%) | ||||
| 0 – 20,000 | 103 (26.3) | 126 (20.5) | 68 (26.5) | 160 (21.5) |
| 20,001 – 40,000 | 126 (32.2) | 219 (35.6) | 85 (33.1) | 258 (34.6) |
| 40,001 – 60,000 | 87 (22.3) | 142 (23.1) | 59 (23.0) | 169 (22.7) |
| 60,001 and over | 75 (19.2) | 128 (20.8) | 45 (17.5) | 158 (21.2) |
| Education – N (%) | ||||
| Grade 8 or less | 38 (9.3) | 37 (5.6) | 26 (9.6) | 48 (6.0) |
| Some high school | 110 (26.8) | 133 (20.0) | 78 (28.9) | 165 (20.6) |
| High school graduate | 107 (26.1) | 177 (26.6) | 73 (27.0) | 209 (26.1) |
| Some post-secondary | 117 (28.5) | 213 (32.0) | 73 (27.0) | 256 (32.0) |
| University graduate | 38 (9.3) | 105 (15.8) | 20 (7.4) | 123 (15.4) |
| Current employment status – N (%) | ||||
| Full-time | 212 (52.4) | 322 (48.6) | 138 (51.7) | 396 (49.7) |
| Part-time | 67 (16.5) | 97 (14.7) | 40 (15.0) | 121 (15.2) |
| Unemployed | 31 (7.7) | 34 (5.1) | 18 (6.7) | 47 (5.9) |
| Homemaker | 56 (13.8) | 134 (20.2) | 36 (13.5) | 87 (10.9) |
| Retired | 48 (11.9) | 75 (11.3) | 37 (13.9) | 152 (19.1) |
| Student | 13 (3.2) | 31 (4.7) | 6 (2.3) | 38 (4.8) |
| Main work activity – N (%) | ||||
| Heavy labour | 77 (20.0) | 49 (7.9) | 46 (18.5) | 79 (10.5) |
| Light labour | 79 (20.4) | 95 (15.4) | 52 (20.9) | 122 (16.2) |
| Sitting | 62 (16.0) | 201 (32.5) | 37 (14.9) | 226 (29.9) |
| Standing | 42 (10.8) | 63 (10.2) | 22 (8.8) | 82 (10.9) |
| Walking | 138 (35.6) | 198 (32.0) | 91 (36.6) | 245 (32.5) |