In brief, the adjustments were based on the proportion of consultations made in private care and, for patients consulting privately, the likelihood of repeat consultation for the knee injury also to a public health care provider was considered to be low.
Diabetes increases the likelihood of medical consultation (1) and risk of death (2) due to influenza.
In contrast, divorce and singleness predicted greater likelihood of professional consultation for a medical problem.
Alternatively persons may have received screening advice prior to symptom episode, with recollection of such a conversation prompting the increased likelihood of medical consultation.
Jordan et al. [ 10] and Thorstensson et al. [ 17] have both demonstrated a modest association between obesity and likelihood of future consultation about knee pain; in the former study this lost significance when corrected for other factors.
Similarly, low mood, tendency to somatise, and psychosocial stressors at work may all cause sensory symptoms, of whatever origin, to be more distressing, thereby increasing the likelihood of medical consultation and that the symptoms will be reported when those affected are questioned.
When the baseline characteristics of both groups are examined, a larger proportion (63% v 52%)of the 'CRP' group had GMS cards (ie did not pay for consultations), which may have had an influence on likelihood of re-consultation.
Finally, the NHI's payment schemes to doctors also increased the likelihoods of high consultation rates.
This appears to be driven largely by the lower likelihood of reporting zero consultation expenditure (at p > 0.1 in the optimal model specification).
