Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of 8321 Older Women in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures by Back Pain Exposure Status
| No back pain | Non-persistent back pain | Infrequent persistent back pain | Frequent persistent back pain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variables† | (n = 2001) | (n = 1919) | (n = 3622) | (n = 779) |
| Socio-demographic | ||||
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 71.8 (5.1) | 71.5 (5.1) | 71.5 (5.1) | 71.4 (5.1) |
| Education, > high school | 764 (38.2) | 757 (39.5) | 1429 (39.5) | 222 (28.5) |
| Married | 965 (48.2) | 963 (50.2) | 1865 (51.5) | 380 (48.8) |
| Living alone | 855 (42.7) | 772 (40.2) | 1445 (39.9) | 331 (42.5) |
| Health-related | ||||
| General health, excellent | 868 (43.4) | 714 (37.2) | 981 (27.1) | 102 (13.1) |
| Current smoker | 157 (7.9) | 141 (7.4) | 279 (7.7) | 81 (10.4) |
| Obese | 343 (17.1) | 321 (16.7) | 778 (21.5) | 199 (25.6) |
| Prevalent vertebral fracture | 304 (15.2) | 348 (18.1) | 767 (21.2) | 214 (27.5) |
| Arthritis | 892 (44.6) | 1081 (56.3) | 2591 (71.5) | 666 (85.5) |
| Hip pain | 242 (12.1) | 437 (22.8) | 1365 (37.7) | 515 (66.1) |
| Fall in last year | 465 (23.2) | 546 (28.5) | 1166 (32.2) | 280 (35.9) |
| Hospitalized in last year | 230 (11.5) | 264 (13.8) | 555 (15.3) | 186 (23.9) |
| Hypertension | 735 (36.7) | 720 (37.5) | 1344 (37.1) | 344 (44.2) |
| Previous stroke | 41 (2.1) | 52 (2.7) | 113 (3.1) | 41 (5.3) |
| Diabetes | 119 (6.0) | 120 (6.3) | 251 (6.9) | 67 (8.6) |
| Breast cancer | 87 (4.4) | 115 (6.0) | 189 (5.2) | 38 (4.9) |
| Breast surgery | 445 (22.2) | 449 (23.4) | 1034 (28.6) | 208 (26.7) |
| Anxiety medication use | 149 (7.4) | 207 (10.8) | 577 (15.9) | 182 (23.4) |
| Deaths after 16 years of follow-up | 1059 (52.9) | 1043 (54.4) | 1982 (54.7) | 506 (65.0) |
Back pain exposure status defined by combining self-report of back pain presence and frequency at visit 1 (1986–1988) and visit 2 (1988–1990)
†Data are presented as number (percentage) of patients unless otherwise indicated