Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the participants in the BACE: C-A cohort (n = 217), stratified by those that reported receiving (n = 132) and not receiving (n = 85) imaging

Age (mean, SD)

67.4, 7.8

67.2, 7.6

67.7, 8.1

Sex (n, %, 95%CI)

 Male

104, 49.1, 42.4–55.7

68, 52.3, 43.8–60.7

36, 43.9, 33.7–54.7

 Female

108, 50.9, 44.3–57.6

62, 47.7, 39.3–56.2

46, 56.1, 45.3–66.3

Low back pain intensity (mean, SD)

5.7, 2.4

5.7, 2.3

5.6, 2.6

Duration of low back pain (n, %, 95%CI)

 Less than 6 weeks

106, 49.5, 42.7–56.4

61, 46.6, 37.9–55.5

45, 54.2, 43.0-65.1

 6 weeks to 3 months

27, 12.6, 8.6–18.0

17, 13.0, 8.0-20.2

10, 12.0, 6.2–21.5

 More than 3 months

81, 37.9, 31.4–44.7

53, 40.5, 32.1–49.4

28, 33.7, 24.0–45.0

Low back disability (mean, SD)*

6.6, 5.3

7.2, 5.1

5.7, 5.5

Previous low back pain (n, %, 95%CI)

183, 85.1, 79.7–89.3

115, 87.8, 81.1–92.3

68, 81.0, 71.3–87.9

Previous healthcare for low back pain (n, %, 95%CI)*

105, 48.4, 41.6–55.2

75, 56.8, 47.9–65.3

30, 35.3 25.4–46.5

Pain extending below the knee (n, %, 95%CI)*

40, 18.4, 13.6–24.4

30, 22.7, 16.1–31.0

10, 11.8, 6.1–21.0

Possible serious cause of low back pain (n, %, 95%CI)*

68, 31.3, 25.3–38.0

57, 43.2, 34.7–52.1

11, 12.9 6.9–22.4

Past history of cancer (n, %, 95%CI)

23, 13.9, 9.4–19.9

15, 15.5, 9.6–24.0

8, 11.6, 6.0-21.2

Taking glucocorticoid medication (n, %, 95%CI)^#

5, 2.4, 1.0-5.6

3, 2.3, 0.8–6.6

2, 2.6, 0.7–9.1

X-rays or scans are necessary to get the best medical care for low back pain (n, %, 95%CI)*

 Agree

126, 61.0, 53.8–67.5

90, 69.2, 60.4–76.9

36, 46.8, 35.4–58.4

 Neutral

52, 25.1, 19.5–31.7

27, 20.8, 14.4–29.0

25, 32.5, 22.5–44.2

 Disagree

29, 14.0, 9.7–19.7

13, 10.0, 5.6–16.8

16, 20.8, 12.7–31.8

Everyone with low back pain should have spine imaging (e.g. X-ray, CT, or MRI)

 Agree

109, 52.7, 45.9–59.8

74, 56.9, 48.0-65.5

35, 45.5, 34.2–57.2

 Neutral

61, 29.5, 23.5–36.3

37, 28.5, 21.1–37.2

24, 31.2, 21.4–42.9

 Disagree

37, 17.9, 13.0-23.9

19, 14.6, 9.3–22.1

18, 23.4, 14.8–34.7