ArticleBMJ open2021
Characteristics of older adults with back pain associated with choice of first primary care provider: a cross-sectional analysis from the BACE-N cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04261309 (BACk Pain in Elders in Norway), which is not on this map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
BACk Pain in Elders in Norway (BACE-N); A Prospective Cohort Study of Older People Visiting Primary Care With a New Episode of Back Pain
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adverse events among older adults receiving chiropractic spinal manipulation and related treatments: an updated systematic review.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2026Pooled it
- Influence of medicinal treatment on the course of nonspecific acute low back pain in older adults: generalized estimating equation using data from the BACE Study - Brazil.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Observational
- Identifying latent subgroups in the older population seeking primary health care for a new episode of back pain - findings from the BACE-N cohort.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Observational
- Acceptability, values, and preferences of older people for chronic low back pain management; a qualitative evidence synthesis.BMC geriatrics · 2024Review
- Factors Influencing Participation in Physical Activity, Sports, and Exercise in Children and Adolescents with Spinal Pain or Spinal Conditions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Ethnography.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Article
- Modifiable prognostic factors of high costs related to healthcare utilization among older people seeking primary care due to back pain: an identification and replication study.BMC health services research · 2022Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo describe characteristics of older adults with back pain in primary care, and to assess associations between patient characteristics and type of first primary care provider (general practitioner (GP), physiotherapist (PT) or chiropractor).
designCross-sectional analysis from the Back Complaints in the Elders-Norway cohort study.
settingNorwegian GP, PT and chiropractic primary care centres.
participantsPatients aged ≥55 years seeking Norwegian primary care with a new episode of back pain were invited to participate. Between April 2015 and February 2020, we included 452 patients: 127 first visited a GP, 130 first visited a PT and 195 first visited a chiropractor. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: For the first objective, the outcome measure was descriptive statistics of patient characteristics, covering the following domains: sociodemographic, general health, current and previous back pain, psychological and clinical factors. For the second objective, first primary care provider was the outcome measure. Associations between patient characteristics and visiting a GP or PT compared with a chiropractor were assessed with multiple multinomial regression analyses.
resultsMedian (IQR) age was 66 (59-72) years. Levels of back-related disability was moderate to severe, with a median (IQR) Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (range 0-24) score of 9 (5-13). Recurring episodes were common, 301 (67%) patients had monthly or yearly recurrences. Patients with worse back-related disability, longer duration of symptoms, lower expectations for full recovery and worse physical performance measured with the Back Performance Scale had higher odds of visiting a GP or PT compared with a chiropractor (p<0.05).
conclusionOlder back pain patients in primary care had moderate to severe levels of back-related disability, and most had recurring episodes. Our results suggest that older adult's choice of first primary care provider was associated with important patient characteristics, which highlights the need for caution with generalisations of study results across primary care populations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04261309.
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