Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with low back pain in primary and secondary care settings in Southern Denmark

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of patients with low back pain in different healthcare settings.

Variable	Group	Total data	GP	DC	PT	SC	Missings	p diff
		n (%)
Consultations		5645 (100)	273	2785	1733	854		<.01
Age	16–34	834 (15)	36	502	163	131
	35–49	1501 (27)	68	842	368	223
	50–65	1933 (34)	99	932	625	277
	>65	1304 (23)	68	467	574	195	73 (1)	<.01
Gender	Female	3012 (53)	155	1362	1037	458
	Male	2608 (46)	118	1421	686	383	25 (1)	<.01
Consultation #	1st	1462 (26)	149	683	308	322
	2–4	2258 (40)	71	1212	577	398
	5–9	925 (16)	6	525	332	62
	10–14	242 (4)	3	120	112	7
	≥15	661 (12)	31	238	386	6	97 (2)	<.01
Duration in weeks	0–1	996 (18)	63	804	126	3
	2–4	1149 (20)	58	823	23	33
	5–8	424 (8)	9	243	150	22
	>8	2745 (49)	99	878	1162	606	331 (6)	<.01
Previous LBP episodes	None or few	1796 (32)	121	901	536	238
	More	3664 (65)	145	1848	1178	493	97 (2)	<.01
Also treated by	GP	–	–	776	1413	–*
	DC	625 (11)	53	–	275	297
	PT	1138 (20)	105	542		491
	SC/hospital	811 (14)	48	210	391	162
	None	2066 (37)	102	1713	208	43	n/a	<.01

GP: General practitioner; DC: Chiropractor; PT; Physiotherapist; SC: Spine Centre.

*Not reported as all patients were expected to have consulted a GP before the SC visit.

Table 2. Symptoms and findings of patients with low back pain at different healthcare settings.

Variable	Total data	GP	DC	PT	SC	Missing	p diff*
	n (%)					n (%)
Symptoms
Radiating pain
Without or above knee level	4044 (72)	188	2270	1271	315
Beneath knee level	1267 (22)	68	406	389	404	334 (6)	<.01
Multisite pain	1649 (29)	80	572	741	256	109 (2)	<.01
Functioning
Sleep	2159 (38)	112)	959	689	399		<.01
Emotionally	1424 (25)	63	514	502	345		<.01
Physically	4442 (79)	206	2168	1364	704		<.01
Sick-listed	727 (13)	47	301	184	195		<.01
None	569 (10)	30	357	157	25	109 (2)	<.01
Neurology
Normal	3191 (57)	192	1663	1016	320		<.01
Abnormal	695 (12)	46	228	242	179		<.01
Untested	1533 (27)	33	868	539	93	137 (2)	<.01
Suspected nerve root compression	578 (10)	41	222	169	146	137 (2)	<.01

GP: General practitioner; DC: Chiropractor; PT: Physiotherapist; SC: Spine Centre.

*p-differences are calculated by use of chi-square tests.

Table 3. Adjusted comparison of symptoms and findings of patients with low back pain at different healthcare settings.

Variable	GP	DC	PT	SC
	Ref	OR (CI 95%)**	OR (CI 95%)**	OR (CI 95%)**
Symptoms:
Radiating pain beneath knee level	1	0.47 (0.34;0.65)*	0.59 (0.42;0.83)**	2.62 (1.82;3.78)*
Multi-site pain	1	0.65 (0.47;0.89)*	1.31 (0.95;1.82)	0.99 (0.70;1.43)
Functioning
Sleep	1	0.80 (0.60;1.05)	0.09 (0.74;1.32)	1.31 (0.95;1.81)
Emotionally	1	0.78 (0.56;1.01)	1.22 (0.86;1.71)	2.03 (1.40;2.92)*
Physically	1	1.20 (0.86;1.66)	1.44 (0.99;1.96)	3.42 (2.22;5.28)*
Sick-listed	1	0.44 (0.30;0.65)*	0.70 (0.47;1.05)	2.12 (1.38;3.26)*
None	1	1.05 (0.67;1.62)	0.74 (0.47;1.18)	0.30 (0.16;0.56)*
Findings:
Abnormal Neurology***	1	0.53 (0.36;0.78)*	0.77 (0.52;1.14)	2.19 (1.42;3.36)*
Suspected nerve root compression***	1	0.75 (0.44;1.23)	0.59 (0.34;1.02)	0.84 (0.47;1.54)

GP: General practitioner; DC: Chiropractor; PT: Physiotherapist; SC: Spine Centre.

*p < 0.05, **Odds ratios are adjusted for age, gender, consultation number, and symptom duration, ***The analysis excludes patients without a neurological examination.

Figure 1. Severity measures of patients with low back pain who consult general practitioners, chiropractors, physiotherapists, and the spine centre at 1st and 2nd or later visit. Graph combined of four graphs, each with the groups of consultation numbers on the x-axis and showing patients with the four health professions. Y-axis 1A: Percentage radiculopathy, 1B: Percentage multisite pain. 1C: Percentage of abnormal neurology, and 1D: Percentage of sick leave. GP: General practitioner; DC: Chiropractor; PT: Physiotherapist; SC: Spine Centre.