TABLE 2.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDY PARTICIPANTS
| Item | Younger (20–35) | Middle (40–55) | Older (70–90) | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 62 (45%) | 28 (20%) | 49 (35%) | 139 |
| Number of males | 46 (74%) | 21 (75%) | 48 (98%) | 115 (83%) |
| Considering a treatment change | 22 (36%) | 10 (36%) | 15 (31%) | 47 (34%) |
| Mean NRS illness severity | 5.95 (2.092) | 6.61 (2.2) | 6.22 (2.143) | 6.18 (2.131) |
| Mean Charleson co-morbidity score | .516 (.621) | 1.57 (1.5) | 2.67 (1.16) | 1.489 (1.416) |
| Mean duration of pain in years | 7.40 (3.766) | 13.11 (11.48) | 21.06 (20.113) | 13.37 (14.483) |
| Course of the pain: | ||||
| Will clear up and go away | 0 (0%) | 2 (7.1%) | 4 (8.2%) | 6 (4.3%) |
| Will get better then come back | 4 (6.5%) | 2 (7.1%) | 2 (4.1%) | 8 (5.7%) |
| Will last for a long time | 12 (1.94%) | 1 (3.6%) | 3 (6.1%) | 16 (11.5%) |
| Will last for the rest of my life | 46 (74.2%) | 23 (82.1%) | 40 (81.6%) | 109 (78.4%) |
| Decliners | ||||
| Age | 22 (31.4%) | 16 (22.9% | 32 (45.7%) | 70 |
| Males | 15 (27.3%) | 12 (21.8%) | 28 (50.9%) | 55 |
standard deviations or percentages are in parentheses