Table 2.

Prognostic factor evidence table

Prognostic factor	Phase	Evidence	Level of evidence
Clinical prognostic factors
Sex	Chronic	2H, 1 M, 1L	Moderate for negative association with male sex
	Subacute	2H, 1 M, 1 M	Strong for no association
Age	Chronic	2H, 1H, 2 M, 2L, 1L	Moderate for negative association
	Subacute	1H, 1 M	Moderate for negative association
Comorbidity	Chronic	1 M	Insufficient
Diagnosis	Chronic	1L	Insufficient
Radiating	Subacute	1H	Moderate for no association
Pain Intensity	Chronic	1H, 2 M, 2L	Moderate for negative association
	Subacute	2H, 1 M	Strong for no association
Functional status	Chronic	2 M, 1L	Moderate for negative association
	Subacute	2H, 2 M	Strong for no association
Functional status-FCE	Chronic	1H, 1 M, 2L	Moderate for positive association
	Subacute	2 M (2 cohorts, one publication)	Moderate for positive association
Pain observation	Subacute	1 M	Insufficient
Delay in referral	Chronic	4H, 1L	Strong for negative association
Intervention	Chronic	1 M, 1H	Moderate for positive association
	Subacute	1H, 2 M	Moderate for positive association
Health	Chronic	2 M, 1L	Moderate for positive association
	Subacute	1 M	Insufficient
Lifestyle	Chronic	1L	Insufficient
Psychosocial prognostic factors
Expectation of RTW	Chronic	2 M, 1L	Insufficient
	Subacute	1H, 1 M	Moderate for positive association
Fear avoidance/Pain catastrophising/Cognitive appraisal/Coping	Chronic	1H, 1 M,1L	Moderate evidence for negative association*
	Subacute	1H, 1 M	Moderate evidence for negative association*
Distress	Subacute	1H	Insufficient
Depression	Chronic	1H, 1L	Moderate for no association
Mental Health	Chronic	2L, 2L	Insufficient
Social workplace prognostic factors
SES	Chronic	2H, 1 M,1L	Strong evidence for positive association
	Subacute	1H	Insufficient
Physical demands	Chronic	1H, 1 M	Moderate evidence for positive association
	Subacute	1H	Insufficient
Modified duties	Chronic	1 M	Insufficient
Social support	Chronic	1H	Insufficient
	Subacute	1 M	Insufficient
Job satisfaction	Chronic	1 M	Insufficient
Attorney involvement	Chronic	2H	Strong evidence for negative association
Worker’s compensation	Chronic	2H, 1 M, 1L	Strong evidence for negative association

H High quality, M Moderate quality, L Low quality, SES Socio economic status, *Heterogeneity in measures