Sociodemographic characteristics of study participants
| Variable | No. (%)* n = 168† |
|---|---|
| Age, yr, mean ± SD (range) | 60.59 ± 16.12 (18–91) |
| No. of comorbidities, mean ± SD (range)‡ | 1.90 ± 1.48 (0–6) |
| Body mass index, mean ± SD (range)§ | 28.54 ± 5.34 (17–40) |
| Follow-up time, d, mean ± SD (range) | 255 ± 117 (41–595) |
| Sex | |
| Male | 84 (50) |
| Female | 84 (50) |
| Missing | 0 |
| Primary diagnosis(es)¶ | |
| Disc herniation | 60 (36) |
| Radiculopathy, sciatica | 25 (15) |
| Spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication | 108 (64) |
| Spondylolisthesis (lytic or NOS) | 8 (5) |
| Spondylolisthesis (degenerative) | 36 (21) |
| Scoliosis, deformity | 8 (5) |
| Primary procedure(s)** | |
| Laminectomy | 91 (54) |
| Discectomy | 102 (61) |
| Fusion | 52 (31) |
| Laminectomy and discectomy | 59 (35) |
| Laminectomy and fusion | 24 (14) |
| Discectomy and fusion | 10 (6) |
| Specific comorbidities back pain excluded)¶ | |
| Anemia or other blood disease | 4 (2) |
| Cancer | 8 (5) |
| Depression | 14 (8) |
| Diabetes | 12 (7) |
| Heart disease | 15 (9) |
| Hypertension | 46 (27) |
| Kidney disease | 1 (1) |
| Liver disease | 1 (1) |
| Lung disease | 7 (4) |
| Osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis | 45 (27) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 12 (7) |
| Ulcer or stomach disease | 3 (2) |
| Other | 49 (29) |
| Marital status | |
| Married | 111 (70) |
| Widowed | 8 (5) |
| Living with significant other | 10 (6) |
| Single (never married) | 17 (11) |
| Divorced or separated | 11 (7) |
| Civil union or domestic partner | 1 (1) |
| Missing | 10 |
| Race | |
| American Indian or Alaskan Native | 1 (1) |
| Asian | 6 (4) |
| Black or African-American | 1 (1) |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | 0 (0) |
| White | 153 (95) |
| Missing | 7 |
| Education | |
| Less than high school | 8 (6) |
| Graduated from high school or GED | 23 (16) |
| Some college or technical school | 31 (22) |
| Graduated from college | 42 (30) |
| Postgraduate school or degree | 38 (27) |
| Missing | 26 |
| Employment status¶ | |
| Working | 48 (29) |
| On leave of absence | 8 (5) |
| Retired (not because of ill health) | 52 (31) |
| Disabled or retired because of ill health | 7 (4) |
| Homemaker | 5 (3%) |
| Unemployed | 4 (2) |
| Student | 2 (1) |
| Other | 10 (6) |
| Not working | 32 (19) |
| Smoking status | |
| Never smoked or used tobacco | 80 (50) |
| Used to smoke or use tobacco | 68 (43) |
| Currently smoke or use tobacco | 12 (8) |
| Missing | 8 |
| Legal action† | |
| Not considering any legal action | 165 (98) |
| My legal action is pending | 2 (1) |
| My legal action has been resolved in my favour | 1 (1) |
| Workers’ compensation status¶ | |
| I am not planning to apply for workers’ compensation | 161 (96) |
| I used to receive it, but do not now | 0 (0) |
| I am planning to apply for it | 1 (1) |
| I have applied for it | 1 (1) |
| I am currently receiving workers’ compensation | 5 (3) |
GED = General Education Development test (alternative to high-school diploma); NOS = not specified; SD = standard deviation.
↵* Unless indicated otherwise.
↵† Unless indicated otherwise.
↵‡ n = 114. Patients were presented with a list of 14 options for comorbidities.
↵§ n = 159.
↵¶ A nonresponse was counted as the absence of the event in question (no disease, not working, no legal action, etc.).
↵** Numbers may sum to greater than 100% because more than 1 may apply.