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. 2010 Nov 11;20(5):720–730. doi: 10.1007/s00586-010-1612-6

Table 2.

Demographic and professional characteristics, and personal history of back pain in physicians, physicians’ formation

All physicians (N = 528) Intervention group (N = 268) Control group (N = 260) p Value$
Age mean (SD) 52.1 (7.64) 52.5 (7.71) 51.7 (7.56) p = 0.16
Gender (F) 133 (25.2%) 70 (26.1%) 63 (24.2%) p = 0.69
Specialization (RH) 209 (39.6%) 105 (39.2%) 104 (40.0%) p = 0.86
Years of practice
 <10 37 (7.0%) 18 (6.7%) 19 (7.3%) p = 0.66
 10–20 163 (30.9%) 76 (28.4%) 87 (33.5%)
 21–30 224 (42.4%) 116 (43.3%) 108 (41.5%)
 >30 101 (19.1%) 56 (20.9%) 45 (17.4%)
Environment of practice
 Rural 289 (54.7%) 155 (57.8%) 134 (51.5%) p = 0.14
 Urban 93 (17.6%) 50 (18.7%) 43 (16.5%)
 Rural and urban 144 (27.3%) 62 (23.1%) 82 (31.5%)
Type of activity
 Hospital 44 (8.3%) 21 (7.8%) 23 (8.8%) p = 0.44
 Independent 396 (75%) 196 (73.1%) 200 (76.9%)
 Hospital and independent 84 (15.9%) 48 (17.9%) 36 (13.8%)
Nb of LBP patients/month
 <10 96 (18.2%) 46 (17.2%) 50 (19.2%) p = 0.48
 10–50 350 (66.3%) 174 (64.9%) 176 (67.7%)
 >50 74 (14%) 43 (16.0%) 31 (11.9%)
Personal history of LBP
 Yes 375 (71%) 181 (67.5%) 194 (74.6%) p = 0.10
LBP duration
 <4 weeks 194 (51.7%) 87 (48.1%) 107 (55.2%) p = 0.18
 4–12 weeks 30 (8.0%) 17 (9.4%) 13 (6.7%) p = 0.35
 >12 weeks 28 (7.5%) 13 (7.2%) 15 (7.7%) p > 0.99
Personal LBP treatment
 Bed rest 26 (6.9%) 12 (6.6%) 14 (7.2%) p = 0.84
 Analgesic I 151 (40%) 68 (37.6%) 83 (42.6%) p = 0.34
 Analgesic II 75 (20%) 37 (20.4%) 38 (19.6%) p = 0.89
 Manipulation 53 (14.1%) 30 (16.6%) 23 (11.9%) p = 0.23
 Physical therapy 70 (18.7%) 31 (17.1%) 39 (20.1%) p = 0.50
 Back school 5 (1.3%) 2 (1.1%) 3 (1.5%) p > 0.99
Relatives LBP treatment
 Bed rest 55 (13.4%) 33 (15.3%) 22 (11.2%) p = 0.25
 Analgesic I 228 (55.5%) 127 (59.1%) 101 (51.5%) p = 0.14
 Analgesic II 172 (41.8%) 79 (36.7%) 93 (47.4%) p = 0.03
 Manipulation 97 (23.6%) 51 (23.7%) 46 (23.5%) p > 0.99
 Physical therapy 200 (48.7%) 96 (44.7%) 104 (53.1%) p = 0.09
 Back school 9 (2.2%) 2 (0.9%) 7 (3.6) p = 0.09

$Non parametric tests (PROC NPAR1WAY option Wilcoxon for quantitative variables, PROC FREQ option Exact for qualitative variables)