Table 1.

Model inputs: 6-week healthcare costs (2015$) productivity loss (2015$), and utilities used to calculate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), Mean (SE)

Health States	Back-Related Healthcare Costs1	Productivity Loss (from Absenteeism)2	Utilities (Measure of Health-Related Quality of Life)3
No pain (no-to-low disability)	$ --	$3.76 ($2.66)	0.806 (0.004)
Low-impact chronic pain (low pain, low activity limitations)	$265.34 ($37.89)	$31.90 ($14.75)	0.763 (0.003)
Moderate-impact chronic pain (high pain, low activity limitations)	$496.30 ($56.48)	$47.55 ($9.61)	0.704 (0.006)
High-impact chronic pain (substantial activity limitations)	$689.91 ($54.38)	$288.93 ($51.88)	0.610 (0.007)

¹Estimated from 2003–2015 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey data. Societal perspective (includes healthcare costs paid by patients).

²Patient self-report absenteeism from the Hurwitz et al, 2002, study. Valued using the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 Employer Cost of Employee Compensation of $33.19 per hour.

³Utilities (SF-6D scores) from the Cassidy et al, 2005, study. These amounts are multiplied by 6/52 to generate the quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) added for each 6-week period.