Table 1.
Patient Baseline Demographic Characteristics, Comorbid Conditions, Clinical Findings, and Health Status Measures.
| Characteristics | High School or Less (n=287) | Some College (n=321) | College grad or above (n=563) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age years, mean (SD) | 42.9 (11.4) | 40.9 (11.8) | 41.5 (11) | 0.10 |
| Female sex - no. (%) | 126 (44%) | 146 (45%) | 231 (41%) | 0.41 |
| Ethnicity: Non Hispanic | 273 (95%) | 306 (95%) | 540 (96%) | 0.84 |
| Race - White† | 244 (85%) | 279 (87%) | 496 (88%) | 0.45 |
| Income - Under $50,000 - no. (%) | 165 (57%) | 173 (54%) | 190 (34%) | <0.001 |
| Married - no. (%) | 220 (77%) | 215 (67%) | 394 (70%) | 0.027 |
| Employment status - no. (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Full or part time | 126 (44%) | 184 (57%) | 402 (71%) | |
| Disabled | 69 (24%) | 46 (14%) | 39 (7%) | |
| Other | 92 (32%) | 91 (28%) | 122 (22%) | |
| Work Lift | <0.001 | |||
| Very important | 154 (54%) | 102 (32%) | 99 (18%) | |
| Somewhat important | 75 (26%) | 101 (31%) | 153 (27%) | |
| Not very important | 58 (20%) | 118 (37%) | 311 (55%) | |
| Compensation - no. (%)‡ | 81 (28%) | 62 (19%) | 62 (11%) | <0.001 |
| Body-mass index (SD)§ | 29 (6) | 28.6 (5.6) | 27 (5.1) | <0.001 |
| Current smoker - no. (%) | 96 (33%) | 99 (31%) | 82 (15%) | <0.001 |
| Coexisting conditions - no. (%) | ||||
| Depression | 35 (12%) | 41 (13%) | 65 (12%) | 0.86 |
| Joint Problem | 54 (19%) | 60 (19%) | 103 (18%) | 0.98 |
| Other¶ | 132 (46%) | 157 (49%) | 228 (40%) | 0.041 |
| Total Number of Comorbidities - no. (%) | 0.31 | |||
| None or one | 197 (69%) | 222 (69%) | 421 (75%) | |
| Two or three | 66 (23%) | 71 (22%) | 105 (19%) | |
| Four or more | 22 (8%) | 25 (8%) | 34 (6%) | |
| Symptom duration < 6 mo since recent episode - no. (%) | 215 (75%) | 250 (78%) | 449 (80%) | 0.27 |
| SF-36 scores, mean (SD)†† | ||||
| Bodily Pain | 21.6 (17.4) | 25 (18.3) | 31.1 (21.5) | <0.001 |
| Physical Functioning | 31.6 (24.2) | 34.7 (24.5) | 42.2 (26) | <0.001 |
| Mental Component Summary | 43.6 (12.4) | 43.8 (11.5) | 46.8 (11) | <0.001 |
| Oswestry Disability Index (SD)‡‡ | 54.1 (20.8) | 51 (20) | 46.4 (21.9) | <0.001 |
| Sciatica Bothersomeness Index (SD)§§ | 16.5 (5.1) | 15.9 (5) | 15 (5.4) | <0.001 |
| Low Back Pain Bothersomeness (SD)¶¶ | 4.3 (1.8) | 3.9 (1.9) | 3.7 (1.8) | <0.001 |
| Very dissatisfied with symptoms - no. (%) | 243 (85%) | 260 (81%) | 436 (77%) | 0.04 |
| Self-assessment of health trend - no. (%) | 0.002 | |||
| Problem getting better | 31 (11%) | 42 (13%) | 104 (18%) | |
| Problem staying about the same | 120 (42%) | 148 (46%) | 259 (46%) | |
| Problem getting worse | 135 (47%) | 128 (40%) | 197 (35%) | |
| Treatment preference at baseline - no. (%) | 0.018 | |||
| Prefer nonsurgical treatment | 81 (28%) | 101 (31%) | 204 (36%) | |
| Not sure | 42 (15%) | 66 (21%) | 85 (15%) | |
| Prefer surgery | 164 (57%) | 154 (48%) | 272 (48%) | |
| Dermatomal pain radiation - no. (%) | 284 (99%) | 309 (96%) | 549 (98%) | 0.10 |
| Pain with straight-leg raise - no. (%) | ||||
| Ipsilateral | 182 (63%) | 207 (64%) | 349 (62%) | 0.75 |
| Contralateral/both | 48 (17%) | 48 (15%) | 88 (16%) | 0.83 |
| Any neurological deficit - no. (%) | 222 (77%) | 242 (75%) | 425 (75%) | 0.81 |
| Asymmetric reflex depressed | 111 (39%) | 130 (40%) | 231 (41%) | 0.80 |
| Asymmetric sensory decrease | 158 (55%) | 157 (49%) | 282 (50%) | 0.27 |
| Asymmetric motor weakness | 113 (39%) | 140 (44%) | 239 (42%) | 0.55 |
| Herniation Level - no. (%)* | 0.47 | |||
| L2–L3/L3–L4 | 25 (9%) | 19 (6%) | 41 (7%) | |
| L4–L5 | 109 (38%) | 115 (36%) | 223 (40%) | |
| L5-S1 | 152 (53%) | 187 (58%) | 299 (53%) | |
| Herniation Type - no. (%) | 0.56 | |||
| Protruding | 78 (27%) | 88 (27%) | 152 (27%) | |
| Extruded | 182 (63%) | 208 (65%) | 377 (67%) | |
| Sequestered | 26 (9%) | 25 (8%) | 34 (6%) | |
| Posterolateral herniation - no. (%) | 219 (76%) | 250 (78%) | 438 (78%) | 0.87 |
| Received surgery - no. (%) | 203 (71%) | 222 (69%) | 349 (62%) | 0.016 |
Race or ethnic group was self-assessed. Whites and blacks could be either Hispanic or non-Hispanic.
This category includes patients who were receiving or had applications pending for workers compensation, Social Security compensation, or other compensation.
The body-mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.
Other indicates problems related to stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, fibromyalgia, CFS, PTSD, alcohol, drug dependence, heart, lung, liver, kidney, blood vessel, nervous system, hypertension, migraine, anxiety, stomach or bowel.
The SF-36 scores range from 0 to 100, with higher score indicating less severe symptoms.
The Oswestry Disability Index ranges from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating less severe symptoms.
The Sciatica Bothersomeness index range from 0 to 24, with lower scores indicating less severe symptoms.
The Low Back Pain Bothersomness Scale ranges from 0 to 6, with lower scores indicating less severe symptoms
The diagnosis for approximately 97% of patients were evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging and 3% with computed tomography.