Socio-demographic, clinical and psychological predictors of healthcare utilization among patients with musculoskeletal disorders: a prospective cohort study

Table 2 Associations (OR) between potential predictors and healthcare utilization (N = 759)

Potential predictor	Contact with primary care physiotherapy in relation to low-back, shoulder or neck pain					Contact with secondary care in relation to specific low-back, neck or shoulder disorders
	Contacts		Crude	Adjusted^d		Contacts		Crude	Adjusted^d
	Cases^b (n)	%	OR	OR	95% CI	Cases^c (n)	%	OR	OR	95% CI
Clinical
Pain 0-10^a	352	46	1.10	1.09	(1.01;1.17)*	84	11	1.24	1.26	(1.11;1.44)*
Standardized disability 0-100^a	347	46	1.01	1.01	(1.00;1.02)*	82	11	1.02	1.02	(1.00;1.03)*
Pain site
Low back	141	43	1.00	1.00	–	37	11	1.00	1.00	–
Neck	106	51	1.41	1.18	(0.81;1.74)	17	8	0.71	0.73	(0.38;1.41)
Shoulder	105	47	1.18	1.03	(0.71;1.50)	30	13	1.22	1.13	(0.64;1.99)
Socio-demographic
Level of education
None	56	43	1.00	1.00	–	15	12	1.00	1.00	–
Low (< 3 years) or vocational and training	182	47	1.17	1.05	(0.67;1.63)	48	12	1.09	1.31	(0.64;2.67)
Middle (3–4 years) or high (> 4 years)	111	47	1.17	0.99	(0.62;1.59)	20	8	0.71	0.79	(0.36;1.76)
Sickness leave^e
No	296	45	1.00	1.00	–	69	10	1.00	1.00	–
Yes	46	56	1.57	1.74	(1.03;2.94)*	14	17	1.76	1.87	(0.91;3.82)
Private Health Insurance
No	215	44	1.00	1.00	–	58	12	1.00	1.00	–
Yes	115	50	1.30	1.32	(0.93;1.87)	20	9	0.72	0.73	(0.41;1.33)
Psychological
Fear avoidance 0-20^a	345	46	1.01	1.02	(0.99;1.05)	83	11	1.05	1.03	(0.98;1.08)
Psychological wellbeing (WHO-5) 0-100^a	350	47	1.00	1.00	(0.99;1.00)	84	11	0.99	0.99	(0.97;1.00)*
General
General Health
Excellent/very good	128	42	1.00	1.00	–	31	10	1.00	1.00	–
Good	156	49	1.36	1.27	(0,90;1.79)	33	10	1.04	0.94	(0.53;1.67)
Fair/poor	67	51	1.47	1.14	(0,71;1.82)	20	15	1.61	1.82	(0.92;3.61)

Abbreviations: OR Odds ratio, CI Confidence interval, WHO World Health Organization
* p < 0.05
^aOR per 1 unit increase in score
^bpatients with ≥6 contacts to primary care physiotherapist
^cpatients with ≥1 contact to secondary care
^dAdjusted for age, gender, duration of pain (under/over 3 months) and comorbidity (yes/no)
^ePatients retired or with flex job or on disability pension was also included in this analysis (n = 186)

ISSN: 1472-6963