Table 1.
Baseline demographic, psychosocial, and injury characteristics of study participants.
| Adherence to clinical practice guidelines that advise against early MRI for patients without “red flags” | Sig | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-adherent (N=336) | Adherent (N=1434) | ||
| Age (at injury) | 0.015 | ||
| Under 24 yrs | 24 (7.1) | 166 (11.6) | |
| 25–34 yrs | 75 (22.3) | 384 (26.8) | |
| 35–44 yrs | 117 (34.8) | 419 (29.2) | |
| 45–54 yrs | 89 (26.5) | 319 (22.2) | |
| Over 55 yrs | 31 (9.2) | 146 (10.2) | |
| Sex | 0.029 | ||
| Female | 91 (27.1) | 477 (33.3) | |
| Male | 245 (72.9) | 957 (66.7) | |
| Race/ethnicity | 0.060 | ||
| Non-Hispanic white | 253 (75.3) | 976 (68.1) | |
| Non-Hispanic non-white | 33 (9.8) | 205 (14.3) | |
| Hispanic non-white | 31 (9.2) | 170 (11.9) | |
| Hispanic white | 11 (3.3) | 36 (2.5) | |
| Education | 0.299 | ||
| Less than high school | 44 (13.1) | 191 (13.3) | |
| High school diploma/GED | 126 (37.5) | 476 (33.2) | |
| Some college | 146 (43.5) | 636 (44.4) | |
| College degree | 20 (6.0) | 130 (9.1) | |
| Household income ($) | 0.074 | ||
| < 30,000 | 116 (34.5) | 591 (41.2) | |
| 30–45,000 | 88 (26.2) | 351 (24.5) | |
| 45–70,000 | 88 (26.2) | 311 (21.7) | |
| >70,000 | 36 (10.7) | 126 (8.8) | |
| Marital status | 0.132 | ||
| Married | 177 (52.7) | 727 (50.7) | |
| Living with partner | 48 (14.3) | 203 (14.2) | |
| Divorced | 73 (21.7) | 265 (18.5) | |
| Other | 38 (11.3) | 236 (16.5) | |
| Body Mass Index | 0.088 | ||
| Normal <25 | 86 (25.6) | 444 (31.0) | |
| Overweight 25–29 | 133 (39.6) | 550 (38.4) | |
| Obese 30–34 | 79 (23.5) | 283 (19.7) | |
| Very obese >34 | 34 (10.1) | 119 (8.3) | |
| Health in year before injury | 0.485 | ||
| Excellent | 87 (25.9) | 324 (22.6) | |
| Very good | 113 (33.6) | 523 (36.5) | |
| Good | 96 (28.6) | 435 (30.3) | |
| Fair/Poor | 40 (11.9) | 149 (10.4) | |
| Health status at time of interview | 0.187 | ||
| Excellent | 67 (19.9) | 282 (19.7) | |
| Very good | 110 (32.7) | 521 (36.3) | |
| Good | 110 (32.7) | 454 (31.7) | |
| Fair/poor | 47 (14.0) | 176 (12.3) | |
| Roland-Morris score (0–24) | <0.001 | ||
| Low (0–6) | 13 (3.9) | 409 (28.5) | |
| Moderate (7–12) | 43 (12.8) | 331 (23.1) | |
| High (13–18) | 112 (33.3) | 400 (27.9) | |
| Very high (19–24) | 168 (50.0) | 294 (20.5) | |
| Pain intensity (0–10) | <0.001 | ||
| Low/no pain (0–3) | 35 (10.4) | 406 (28.3) | |
| Mild pain (4–6) | 110 (32.7) | 563 (39.3) | |
| Moderate/high pain (7–10) | 191 (56.8) | 462 (32.2) | |
| Injury severity | <0.001 | ||
| Mild sprain/strain and/or minor physical exam findings | 99 (29.6) | 905 (63.5) | |
| Major sprain/strain evidenced by substantial immobility | 72 (21.6) | 305 (21.4) | |
| Evidence of radiculopathy | 163 (48.8) | 216 (15.1) | |
| SF36 Mental health score | <0.001 | ||
| 2 SD below population mean | 82 (24.4) | 174 (12.1) | |
| 1–2 SD below population mean | 95 (28.3) | 285 (19.9) | |
| 1 SD below population mean | 93 (27.7) | 351 (24.5) | |
| At or above population mean | 66 (19.6) | 622 (43.4) | |
| Catastrophizing (0–4) | <0.001 | ||
| Low (<1) | 39 (11.6) | 373 (26.0) | |
| Moderate (1–2.9) | 173 (51.5) | 781 (54.5) | |
| High (3–4) | 124 (36.9) | 280 (19.5) | |
| Work fear-avoidance (0–6) | <0.001 | ||
| Low (0–2.9) | 30 (8.9) | 324 (22.6) | |
| Moderate (3–4.9) | 87 (25.9) | 486 (33.9) | |
| High (5–5.9) | 133 (39.6) | 398 (27.8) | |
| Very high (6) | 86 (25.6) | 226 (15.8) | |
| Offered job accommodation for disability | <0.001 | ||
| Yes | 118 (35.1) | 689 (48.0) | |
| No | 211 (62.8) | 729 (50.8) | |
| 1+ previous compensable back claims | 0.011 | ||
| Yes | 82 (24.4) | 259 (18.1) | |
| No | 254 (75.6) | 1165 (81.2) | |
| Job satisfaction | 0.689 | ||
| Not at all | 15 (4.5) | 86 (6.0) | |
| Not too satisfied | 29 (8.6) | 128 (8.9) | |
| Somewhat satisfied | 144 (42.9) | 593 (41.4) | |
| Very satisfied | 148 (44.0) | 623 (43.4) | |
| Industry | 0.109 | ||
| Trade/transportation | 79 (23.5) | 355 (24.8) | |
| Natural resources | 10 (3.0) | 75 (5.2) | |
| Construction | 69 (20.5) | 250 (17.4) | |
| Manufacturing | 36 (10.7) | 104 (7.3) | |
| Management | 57 (17.0) | 229 (16.0) | |
| Education/health | 45 (13.4) | 227 (15.8) | |
| Hospitality | 40 (11.9) | 194 (13.5) | |
| Physical demands at work | 0.014 | ||
| Light | 53 (15.8) | 296 (20.6) | |
| Medium | 101 (30.1) | 460 (32.1) | |
| Heavy | 78 (23.2) | 348 (24.3) | |
| Very heavy | 100 (29.8) | 324 (22.6) | |
| Type of first medical visit | <0.001 | ||
| Primary care | 164 (48.8) | 622 (43.4) | |
| Occupational medicine | 17 (5.1) | 39 (2.7) | |
| Chiropractor | 66 (19.6) | 474 (33.1) | |
| Surgeon | 11 (3.3) | 25 (1.7) | |
| Emergency room/clinic | 71 (21.1) | 250 (17.4) | |
| Other | 7 (2.1) | 24 (1.7) | |
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation.
Non-adherent group reflects workers who received an MRI within the first 6 weeks of injury.
Adherent group reflects workers who received an MRI after the first 6 weeks of injury (N=255), or did not receive an MRI at all (N=1179).
Frequency counts do not always sum to total because of missing responses or rounding. Values are N (%) and significance values indicate results from χ2 tests.