Table 1.
Descriptive analysis of demographic variables for whole study sample and across STarT Back Tool risk subgroups for patients presenting for chiropractic care (n = 550)
| Variables | n for whole sample | Whole Sample | n for select variable across STarT Back subgroup | STarT Back Risk Subgroup | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Medium | High | ||||
| Age-mean (SD) | 529 | 44.8 (15.9) | 42.4 (15.4) | 50.9 (17.1) | 45.1 (13.6) | |
| Sex-n (%) | 536 | 486 | ||||
| Male | 230 (42.9) | 166 (43.2) | 33 (41.3) | 11 (50.0) | ||
| Female | 305 (56.9) | 217 (56.5) | 47 (58.8) | 11 (50 | ||
| Prefer not to answer | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Prefer to self-describe | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Race-n (%) | 524 | 475 | ||||
| Native American or Alaskan Native | 2 (0.4) | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Asian | 6 (1.1) | 3 (0.8) | 2 (2.5) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Black or African American | 27 (5.2) | 13 (3.5) | 6 (7.5) | 4 (18.2) | ||
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| White | 462 (88.2) | 337 (90.3) | 67 (83.8) | 16 (72.7) | ||
| > 1 race | 26 (5.0) | 18 (4.8) | 4 (5.0) | 2 (9.1) | ||
| Ethnicity-n (%) | 498 | 453 | ||||
| Hispanic/Latino | 33 (6.6) | 23 (6.4) | 6 (8.0) | 2 (10.5) | ||
| Non-Hispanic/non-Latino | 465 (93.4) | 336 (93.6) | 69 (92.0) | 17 (89.5) | ||
| Employment status-n (%) | 511 | 468 | ||||
| Full-time | 251 (49.1) | 201 (54.0) | 23 (31.1) | 11 (50.0) | ||
| Part-time | 69 (13.5) | 54 (14.5) | 9 (12.2) | 1 (4.5) | ||
| Full-time student | 64 (11.6) | 53 (14.2) | 5 (6.8) | 1 (4.5) | ||
| Unemployed | 127 (24.9) | 64 (17.2) | 37 (50) | 9 (40.9) | ||
| Occupation-n (%) | 514 | 467 | ||||
| Educator | 40 (7.8) | 36 (9.7) | 2 (2.7) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Health care professional | 61 (11.9) | 48 (12.9) | 6 (8.1) | 1 (0.0) | ||
| Active duty military | 36 (7.0) | 29 (7.8) | 4 (5.4) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Law enforcement | 2 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.4) | 1 (4.5) | ||
| Computer technology | 16 (3.1) | 12 (3.2) | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Transportation industry | 9 (1.8) | 8 (2.2) | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Agriculture | 10 (1.9) | 5 (1.3) | 2 (2.7) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| Other | 340 (66.1) | 233 (62.8) | 57 (77.0) | 20 (90.9) | ||
| Marital status-n (%) | 534 | 484 | ||||
| Never been married | 147 (27.5) | 106 (27.7) | 19 (24.1) | 6 (27.3) | ||
| Married/living with significant other | 294 (55.1) | 221 (57.7) | 45 (57.0) | 6 (27.3) | ||
| Divorced | 75 (14.0) | 48 (12.5) | 11 (13.9) | 8 (36.4) | ||
| Widow | 18 (3.4) | 8 (2.1) | 4 (5.1) | 2 (9.1) | ||
| Primary symptom area-n (%) | 549 | 495 | ||||
| Low back pain | 136 (24.8) | 89 (22.8) | 30 (37.0) | 8 (34.8) | ||
| Neck pain | 80 (14.6) | 66 (16.9) | 4 (4.9) | 2 (8.7) | ||
| Mid-back pain | 52 (9.5) | 42 (10.7) | 4 (4.9) | 2 (8.7) | ||
| Other | 132 (24.0) | 109 (27.9) | 10 (12.3) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| > 1 region | 149 (27.1) | 85 (21.7) | 33 (40.7) | 11 (47.8) | ||
| Current episode duration-n (%) | 548 | 494 | ||||
| n/a | 46 (8.4) | 38 (9.7) | 2 (2.5) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| < 2 weeks | 60 (10.9) | 46 (11.8) | 7 (8.8) | 4 (17.4) | ||
| 2–4 weeks | 43 (7.8) | 32 (8.2) | 3 (3.8) | 2 (8.7) | ||
| 5–12 weeks | 59 (10.8) | 40 (10.2) | 10 (12.5) | 2 (8.7) | ||
| 13 weeks – 1 year | 71 (13.0) | 52 (13.3) | 12 (15.0) | 2 (8.7) | ||
| > 1 year | 269 (49.1) | 183 (46.8) | 46 (57.5) | 13 (56.5) | ||
| Chiropractic care duration-n (%) | 547 | 493 | ||||
| n/a or have not received chiropractic care for condition | 52 (9.4) | 39 (7.2) | 4 (4.9) | 1 (4.3) | ||
| < 2 weeks | 41 (7.5) | 29 (7.5) | 5 (6.2) | 2 (8.7) | ||
| 2–4 weeks | 49 (9.0) | 34 (8.7) | 9 (11.1) | 1 (4.3) | ||
| 5 to 12 weeks | 67 (12.2) | 50 (12.9) | 10 (12.3) | 2 (8.7) | ||
| 13 weeks – 1 year | 78 (14.3) | 58 (14.9) | 9 (11.1) | 4 (17.4) | ||
| > 1 year | 260 (47.3) | 179 (46.0) | 44 (54.3) | 13 (56.5) | ||
| Average pain in past 2 weeks-mean (SD) | 547 | 3.6 (2.2) | 3.0 (1.8) | 5.5 (1.8) | 7.3 (1.5) | |
| Most severe pain in past 2 weeks-mean (SD) | 547 | 5.1 (2.6) | 4.4 (2.4) | 7.2 (1.8) | 8.7 (1.3) | |
| Current pain-mean (SD) | 530 | 2.9 (2.1) | 2.3 (1.8) | 4.6 (1.8) | 5.9 (2.6) | |