Association of worker characteristics and early reimbursement for physical therapy, chiropractic and opioid prescriptions with workers’ compensation claim duration, for cases of acute low back pain: an observational cohort study

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-007836

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BMJ Open. 2015; 5(8): e007836.

Published online 2015 Aug 26. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-007836

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Table 3

Factors associated with time to claim closure (n=1442)*

	Univariate		Multivariable
	HR (99% CI)	p Value	Adjusted HR (99% CI)	p Value
Baseline predictors
Age categories in years		<0.001		<0.001
15 to <25	1.00		1.00
25 to <35	0.88 (0.65 to 1.19)		0.79 (0.58 to 1.09)
35 to <45	0.78 (0.59 to 1.04)		0.70 (0.52 to 0.95)
45 to <55	0.76 (0.56 to 1.02)		0.67 (0.49 to 0.91)
55–65	0.56 (0.40 to 0.80)		0.52 (0.36 to 0.74)
Gender		0.114		0.446
Females	1.09 (0.95 to 1.26)		0.96 (0.82 to 1.12)
Males	1.00		1.00
First language		0.137		0.312
English	1.00		1.00
Other	0.83 (0.59 to 1.15)		0.88 (0.63 to 1.23)
Predisability income in dollars per week
At 60 days
≤480	1.00	–	1.00	–
481–694	1.09 (0.89 to 1.34)	0.273	1.03 (0.83 to 1.27)	0.749
695–920	1.13 (0.92 to 1.39)	0.137	0.96 (0.77 to 1.21)	0.678
>920	1.08 (0.88 to 1.33)	0.326	0.93 (0.74 to 1.18)	0.443
At 180 days
≤480	1.00	–	1.00	–
481–694	0.89 (0.68 to 1.17)	0.267	0.89 (0.67 to 1.17)	0.266
695–920	0.84 (0.63 to 1.12)	0.115	0.73 (0.54 to 0.98)	0.006
>920	0.72 (0.54 to 0.97)	0.004	0.63 (0.46 to 0.86)	<0.001
At 365 days
≤480	1.00	–	1.00	–
481–694	0.65 (0.36 to 1.18)	0.064	0.71 (0.38 to 1.31)	0.147
695–920	0.53 (0.28 to 1.02)	0.012	0.47 (0.24 to 0.91)	0.003
>920	0.39 (0.20 to 0.75)	<0.001	0.34 (0.17 to 0.68)	<0.001
Early reimbursement for opioid prescription (within the first 28 days)		<0.001		<0.001
Yes	0.62 (0.48 to 0.80)		0.68 (0.53 to 0.88)
No	1.00		1.00
Prior claims		0.306		0.709
Yes	1.07 (0.91 to 1.26)		1.03 (0.86 to 1.22)
No	1.00		1.00
Union membership		<0.001		0.016
Yes	1.29 (1.11 to 1.50)		1.14 (0.96 to 1.35)
No	1.00		1.00
Missing	1.34 (1.07 to 1.68)		1.27 (1.01 to 1.59)
Employer RTW programme		<0.001		<0.001
Yes	1.73 (1.43 to 2.09)		1.78 (1.45 to 2.18)
No	1.00		1.00
Missing	1.17 (0.87 to 1.58)		1.17 (0.86 to 1.59)
Doubt work relatedness		0.174		0.138
Yes	0.94 (0.76 to 1.16)		0.88 (0.71 to 1.08)
No	1.00		1.00
Missing	1.13 (0.92 to 1.39)		1.08 (0.87 to 1.33)
Early reimbursement for chiropractic care
At 60 days	1.19 (0.99 to 1.45)	0.017	1.15 (0.94 to 1.41)	0.067
At 180 days	0.91 (0.65 to 1.24)	0.437	0.90 (0.65 to 1.24)	0.392
At 365 days	0.60 (0.29 to 1.23)	0.067	0.61 (0.29 to 1.29)	0.089
Early reimbursement for physiotherapy	0.98 (0.84 to 1.15)	0.726	1.01 (0.86 to 1.19)	0.848

Early reimbursement for chiropractic or physiotherapy=3 or more treatments received within the first 28 days.

*HR>1 indicates faster claim closure.

RTW, return to work.