Clinical outcomes 12 months after surgery among disability pension (DP) applicants and non-applicants
| DP-applicants n=806 (5.0%) | Non-applicants n=15291 (95.0%) | P value | |
| Returned to work, n (%) | <0.001 | ||
| Yes | 186 (23.1) | 12 019 (78.6) | |
| No | 620 (76.9) | 3272 (21.4) | |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | |
| Benefit of operation, (GPE-scale), n (%) | <0.001 | ||
| Completely recovered | 54 (6.7) | 3538 (23.1) | |
| Much better | 261 (32.4) | 7212 (47.2) | |
| Slightly better | 241 (29.9) | 2629 (17.2) | |
| Unchanged | 98 (12.2) | 821 (5.4) | |
| A little worse | 67 (8.3) | 532 (3.5) | |
| Much worse | 49 (6.1) | 327 (2.1) | |
| Worse than ever | 30 (3.7) | 132 (0.9) | |
| Missing | 6 (0.7) | 100 (0.7) | |
| Achieved PASS,* n (%) | 245 (30.4) | 10 794 (70.6) | <0.001 |
| Missing | 4 (0.5) | 55 (0.4) | |
| Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score for back pain,† mean (95% CI) | 5.1 (4.9 to 5.4) | 3.1 (3.0 to 3.1) | <0.001 |
| Missing, n (%) | 4 (0.5) | 78 (0.5) | |
| NRS score for leg pain,† mean (95% CI) | 4.4 (4.2 to 4.6) | 2.5 (2.4 to 2.5) | <0.001 |
| Missing, n (%) | 5 (0.6) | 116 (0.8) | |
| Oswstry Disability Index (ODI),† mean (95% CI) | 33.4 (32.1 to 34.7) | 17.0 (16.8 to 17.3) | <0.001 |
| Missing, n (%) | 4 (0.5) | 55 (0.4) | |
| EuroQoL 5 Dimensions 3 Level (EQ-5D),† mean (95% CI) | 0.47 (0.45 to 0.50) | 0.72 (0.71 to 0.72) | <0.001 |
| Missing, n (%) | 65 (9.5) | 922 (7.2) | |
| NRS change score for back pain,‡ mean (95% CI) | 2.1 (1.9 to 2.3) | 3.1 (3.0 to 3.1) | <0.001 |
| Missing, n (%) | 18 (2.2) | 435 (2.8) | |
| NRS change score for leg pain,§ mean (95% CI) | 2.5 (2.3 to 2.8) | 4.0 (4.0 to 4.1) | <0.001 |
| Missing, n (%) | 26 (3.2) | 376 (3.1) | |
| ODI change score,§ mean (95% CI) | 15.2 (13.7 to 16.7) | 25.0 (24.6 to 25.3) | <0.001 |
| Missing, n (%) | 7 (0.9) | 135 (0.9) | |
| EQ-5D 3 level change score,§ mean (95% CI) | 0.26 (0.23 to 0.30) | 0.39 (0.38 to 0.40) | <0.001 |
| Missing, n (%) | 93 (13.6) | 1329 (10.3) |
*PASS, defined as ODI≤22 at 12 months after surgery.
†Higher score more favourable: 0=death, 1=perfect health.
‡Higher change score between baseline and 12 months follow-up indicates more improvement.
§0–100 (no-maximum back pain related disability).
GPE, Global Perceived Effect; PASS, Patient Acceptable Symptom State.