Frequency of reasons for seeking medical help in female and male patients and in patients in different age categories
| Gender | Age categories | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | <40 years | 40–60 years | >60 years | |
| N=426 | N=186 | N=158 | N=270 | N=184 | |
| Reasons for seeking medical help; Because… | |||||
| The symptoms suddenly occurred | 25.8 | 32.8 | 35.4 | 24.1 | 27.2* |
| The symptoms were getting worse | 68.8 | 58.6* | 69.0 | 66.3 | 62.0 |
| More symptoms occurred | 41.1 | 29.0* | 36.7 | 43.0 | 29.9* |
| I worried about what could be wrong | 39.2 | 48.4* | 48.1 | 45.2 | 32.1* |
| I worried I might have had a joint inflammation | 35.2 | 38.2 | 32.9 | 35.6 | 39.7 |
| I worried I might have had a joint inflammation and I heard/read that you have to act quickly | 13.1 | 17.2 | 12.7 | 13.7 | 16.8 |
| Due to my symptoms, I was unable to do things | 35.9 | 33.3 | 38.0 | 35.6 | 32.1 |
| I wanted to ask for a painkiller | 15.5 | 16.7 | 10.8 | 14.8 | 21.7* |
| My family/friends thought I should go | 23.0 | 20.4 | 32.9 | 17.4 | 20.1* |
| Reasons for postponing seeking medical help; Because… | |||||
| I was unable to go sooner | 1.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.1 |
| I wanted to wait and see | 43.7 | 41.4 | 53.8 | 43.7 | 32.6* |
| The doctor could not see me sooner | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| It seemed like it was getting better | 6.3 | 10.2 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| I thought it would go away by itself | 39.2 | 39.8 | 51.3 | 39.3 | 29.3* |
| I thought nothing could be done about it | 7.3 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 6.3 | 9.2 |
| I thought I wouldn't be taken seriously | 4.2 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| It didn't seem serious | 12.4 | 12.4 | 18.4 | 11.5 | 8.7* |
| I was afraid it might have been serious | 3.3 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 4.9* |
| I asked somebody else to look at it first | 4.2 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 4.3 |
Data are expressed as %.
*p Value < 0.05.