Table 1.
Patient characteristics among CAM and non-CAM users with self-reported spine problems reported in MEPS 2002–2008.
| Character | Level | Overall | NOT CAM USER | CAM USER | p-value for difference between groups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unweighted sample, 2002–2008 | 12,036 | 7,730 (64.2%) | 4,306 (35.8%) | -- | |
| Annual weighted sample | 18.0 M | 10.6 M (59.1%) | 7.4 M (40.8%) | ||
| Age, mean | 48.9 (48.5, 49.3) | 50.9 (50.4, 51.5) | 48.2 (47.4, 48.9) | 0.001 | |
| Sex, % | Male | 44.1 (42.9, 45.2) | 44.4 (42.9, 46.0) | 43.5 (41.7, 45.4) | <0.001 |
| Female | 55.9 (54.8, 57.1) | 55.6 (54.0, 57.1) | 56.5 (54.6, 58.3) | ||
| Region | Northeast | 18.8 (17.4, 20.4) | 19.1 (17.5, 20.8) | 18.4 (16.4, 20.6) | <0.001 |
| Midwest | 26.2 (24.4, 28.1) | 22.5 (20.6, 24.4) | 31.7 (29.0, 34.4) | ||
| South | 32.3 (30.5, 34.2) | 39.1 (37.0, 41.3) | 22.6 (20.1, 25.2) | ||
| West | 22.6 (20.9, 24.5) | 19.3 (17.7, 21.1) | 27.4 (24.8, 30.1) | ||
| Race | White | 86.6 (85.6, 87.5) | 83.3 (82.0, 84.6) | 91.4 (90.2, 92.4) | <0.001 |
| Black | 8.2 (7.5, 8.9) | 11.5 (10.5, 12.5) | 3.4 (2.8, 4.2) | ||
| Am. Indian | 0.8 (0.5, 1.1) | 0.9 (0.6, 1.4) | 0.6 (0.3, 1.0) | ||
| Asian | 2.5 (2.2, 3.0) | 2.4 (2.0, 3.0) | 2.7 (2.1, 3.4) | ||
| Native Ak | 0.2 (0.1, 0.3) | 0.2 (0.1, 0.4) | 0.2 (0.1, 0.4) | ||
| Multiple | 1.7 (1.4, 2.1) | 1.6 (1.3, 2.1) | 1.8 (1.3, 2.4) | ||
| Ethnicity | Hispanic | 7.2 (6.5, 8.0) | 8.8 (8.0, 9.7) | 4.8 (4.0, 5.7) | <0.001 |
| Not Hispanic | 92.8 (92.1, 93.5) | 91.2 (90.3, 92.0) | 95.2 (94.3, 95.9) | ||
| Marital Status | Married | 59.0 (57.7, 60.3) | 57.3 (55.7, 58.9) | 61.4 (59.3, 63.5) | <0.001 |
| Widowed | 8.2 (7.5, 8.9) | 9.7 (8.8, 10.7) | 6.0 (5.0, 7.1) | ||
| Divorced | 14.1 (13.2, 15.1) | 14.8 (13.6, 16.0) | 13.2 (11.9, 14.7) | ||
| Separated | 2.2 (1.9, 2.6) | 2.7 (2.3, 3.2) | 1.5 (1.1, 2.0) | ||
| Never | 16.5 (15.6, 17.5) | 15.5 (14.5, 16.7) | 17.9 (16.3, 19.7) | ||
| Adapted Charlson Index | None | 66.9 (65.6, 68.1) | 63.3 (61.8, 64.7) | 72.1 (70.0, 74.0) | <0.001 |
| 1 | 21.5 (20.5, 22.5) | 23.5 (22.3, 24.6) | 18.5 (16.9, 20.3) | ||
| 2 | 11.7 (10.8, 12.6) | 11.8 (12.2, 14.4) | 9.4 (8.2, 10.8) | ||
| Health Insurance | Medicaid | 8.2 (7.5, 8.9) | 9.8 (8.9, 10.7) | 5.8 (4.9, 6.9) | <0.001 |
| Medicare | 9.0 (8.3, 9.7) | 12.7 (11.7, 13.7) | 3.7 (3.1, 4.5) | ||
| Private only | 75.1 (74.0, 76.3) | 69.8 (68.3, 71.2) | 82.9 (81.3, 84.4) | ||
| Uninsured | 7.7 (7.0, 8.5) | 7.8 (7.0, 8.7) | 7.6 (6.5, 8.9) | ||
| Family income | Poor | 10.1 (9.4, 10.9) | 13.7 (12.7, 14.7) | 5.0 (4.3, 5.9) | <0.001 |
| Near Poor | 3.8 (3.5, 4.2) | 4.7 (4.2, 5.2) | 2.6 (2.2, 3.2) | ||
| Low | 11.7 (10.9, 12.5) | 13.7 (12.7, 14.8) | 8.8 (7.9, 9.8) | ||
| Middle | 29.7 (28.6, 30.9) | 29.1 (27.7, 30.5) | 30.7 (28.8, 32.5) | ||
| High | 44.6 (43.0, 46.2) | 38.9 (37.0, 40.8) | 52.9 (50.8, 55.1) | ||
| Education * | High school or less | 48.4 (46.8,50.0) | 53.9 (52.2, 55.7) | 40.3 (37.9, 42.7) | <0.001 |
| Any College | 51.6 (50.0, 53.3) | 46.1 (44.3, 47.8) | 59.7 (57.3, 62.1) | ||
| Unemployed at any time during year | No | 60.6 (59.3, 61.8) | 52.8 (51.1, 54.4) | 71.9 (70.1, 73.6) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 39.4 (38.2, 40.7) | 47.2 (45.6, 48.9) | 28.1 (26.4, 29.9) | ||
| Back Pain diagnosis category | Sprain/strain | 9.9 (9.2, 10.7) | 10.6 (9.8, 11.5) | 8.9 (7.6, 10.3) | <0.001 |
| Degeneration | 60.9 (59.7, 62.1) | 56.4 (54.8, 57.9) | 67.5 (65.5, 69.3) | ||
| Herniation w/o myelopathy | 12.3 (11.4, 13.1) | 14.7 (13.5, 15.9) | 8.7 (7.7, 9.9) | ||
| Herniation w/myelopathy | 11.5 (10.7, 12.3) | 12.6 (11.6, 13.6) | 9.9 (8.7, 11.1) | ||
| Stenosis | 2.5 (2.1, 3.0) | 3.2 (2.6, 3.8) | 1.5 (1.1, 2.1) | ||
| Spondylolisthesis | 0.4 (0.2, 0.5) | 0.4 (0.3, 0.7) | 0.3 (0.1, 0.6) | ||
| Scoliosis | 2.7 (2.3, 3.2) | 2.2 (1.8, 2.7) | 3.4 (2.7, 4.2) | ||
*
Total proportion is less that 100 because the answer was not ascertained for a small number of respondents