Who consults chiropractors in Victoria, Australia?: Reasons for attending, general health and lifestyle habits of chiropractic patients

Table 4 COAST patient lifestyle characteristics compared to the Australian Health Survey (AHS)

	Number	% of patients^a	95 % confidence interval	AHS %
BMI:
Male (n = 1192) ^b,c,d
[missing]	[33]
Underweight (<18.5)	3	0	(0,1)	1
Normal (18.5–25)	340	29	(26,33)	29
Overweight (25–30)	551	48	(45,50)	42
Obese (>30)	265	23	(20,26)	28
Female (n = 1620) ^b,c,e
[missing]	[86]
Underweight (<18.5)	32	2	(1,3)	2
Normal (18.5–25)	692	45	(41,50)	42
Overweight (25–30)	468	31	(28,33)	28
Obese (>30)	342	22	(19,26)	28
Cigarette smoking (n = 1388)^b,f
[missing]	[8]
Never smoked	787	57	(54,60)	51
Used to smoke	405	29	(27,32)	31
Now smoke	188	14	(12,16)	18
Alcohol Consumption n = (1388)^b,g,h
[missing]	[59]
Meet guidelines	491	37	(33,41)	40
Do not meet guidelines	359	27	(24,31)	20
Do not drink	479	36	(33,39)	40
Health rating (n = 1442)^i,j
[missing]	[0]
Excellent/very good	830	58	(53,62)	55
Good	472	33	(29,36)	30
Fair/poor	140	10	(8,12)	15

^aMissing data not used in percentage calculations
^bThose aged 18 or more
^cExcludes cases missing height and/or weight
^dAHS respondents were more likely to be underweight or obese than COAST patients, but were less likely to be overweight (χ ² = 24.9, df = 3,p < 0.001)
^eAHS respondents were more likely to be obese than COAST patients (χ ² = 19.3, df = 3,p = 0.001)
^fAHS respondents were less likely to have never smoked and more likely to currently smoke (χ ² = 22.8, df = 2,p < 0.001)
^gStandard drinks in last 7 days
^hRisky alcohol consumption was significantly lower among AHS participants (χ ² = 48.5, df = 2,p < 0.001)
ⁱThose aged 15 or more
^jAHS respondents were less likely to describe their health as Excellent/Very Good or Good and were more likely to describe their health as Fair/Poor (χ ² = 26.0, df = 2, p < 0.001)

ISSN: 2045-709X