Table 1

Descriptive statistics of workers on full work disability for 30 days with an accepted MSD lost-time claim between 2010 and 2015, by GRTW status, in the Canadian jurisdiction of British Columbia

Unmatched cohortχ2
P value
Matched cohortχ2
P value
Workers with GRTWWorkers without GRTWWorkers with GRTWWorkers without GRTW
n=17 468 (46.8%)n=19 888 (53.2%)n=12 494 (50.0%)n=12 494 (50.0%)
(Column %)(Column %)(Column %)(Column %)
Unmatched variables
Injury and sociodemographic characteristics
Musculoskeletal disorder<0.001<0.001
 Upper extremity sprains and strains18.8216.2318.4216.98
 Lower extremity sprains and strains13.3014.6613.3414.70
 Back* sprains and strains33.5633.6032.1234.79
 Upper extremity fractures9.8510.4510.549.64
 Lower extremity fractures8.327.918.807.18
 Torso† fractures3.264.363.683.75
 Dislocation2.322.752.442.55
 Dorsopathies4.914.845.064.73
 Rheumatism (excluding the back)5.665.195.595.67
Age (in years)<0.001<0.001
 15–245.829.776.348.80
 25–3416.2718.1317.2117.45
 35–4422.8022.3522.6022.38
 45–5432.7629.8831.8830.73
 55–6422.2619.8821.9720.63
Occupation<0.001<0.001
 Trades, transport and equipment operations‡37.7948.4441.7042.88
 Business, finance and administration§4.052.773.753.03
 Natural and applied sciences¶1.761.861.801.78
 Health13.569.3512.1512.05
 Education, law and social services**4.173.303.874.78
 Art, culture, recreation and sports††0.881.390.861.39
 Sales, service22.7016.9221.3519.85
 Management2.682.032.502.04
 Natural resources, agriculture3.307.053.754.35
 Manufacturing and utilities‡‡9.116.598.287.87
Variables used for coarsened exact matching
Gender<0.0011.000
 Men58.8271.3335.3235.32
 Women41.1828.6764.6864.68
Annual wage (CAD$)<0.0011.000
 <$20 0007.6011.687.937.93
 $20 000–$39 99945.6636.3437.1937.19
 $40 000–$59 99950.9627.1129.7529.75
 >$59 99947.4524.8725.1325.13
Workplace characteristics
Shift type<0.0011.000
 Fixed49.2141.7248.0948.09
 Rotating7.887.356.686.68
 Variable42.9150.9345.2445.24
Industry sector<0.0011.000
 Primary resources2.957.413.413.41
 Manufacturing14.9310.4913.2213.22
 Construction13.2520.6017.3717.37
 Transportation and warehousing9.5814.7210.1810.18
 Trade12.247.579.089.08
 Public sector4.533.163.123.12
 Service sector42.5236.0543.6143.61
Firm size (FTE)<0.0011.000
 <2028.5645.5236.1536.15
 20–10023.8124.2626.2526.25
 100–50023.8116.0820.1120.11
 500–10005.933.853.943.94
 >100017.8910.2913.5613.56
Claim year<0.0011.000
 201015.1518.4816.3716.37
 201115.8719.3617.6817.68
 201217.0317.4218.1418.14
 201317.0916.5517.0517.05
 201417.6314.9615.9415.94
 201517.2313.2214.8214.82
  • *Back, head, neck, spine and torso.

  • †Torso, back, neck, spine and head.

  • ‡Trades, transport, equipment operators and related occupations.

  • §Business, finance and administration.

  • ¶Natural and applied sciences, related occupations.

  • **Social science, education, government, service and religion.

  • ††Recreation, arts, culture and sport.

  • ‡‡Manufacturing, processing and utilities.

  • CAD$, Canadian dollars; FTE, fulltime equivalent; GRTW, gradual return to work; MSD, musculoskeletal disorder.