Hussain SM et al. Fat Mass and Fat Distribution Are Associated with Low Back Pain Intensity and Disability: results from a cohort study. Arthritis Research & Therapy. 2017
- Obesity and overweight are also associated with many msk diseases including LBP. Both a systematic review and meta-analysis of smaller cohort studies including over 25,000 participants showed that both overweight and obesity increased the risk of LBP. However, no studies in the systematic review or meta-analysis examined fat mass or distribution.
- The aim of this study was to examine the relationship b/w gender-specific body composition and LBP intensity and disability longitudinally in a national population-based cohort of men and women.
- Study participants came out the the Australian Diabetes Obesity and Lifestyle study of 11,247 ppl. 5,058 met the study criteria and responded to questionnaires so were included in this study.
- Demographic and lifestyle data, including date of birth, gender, education, smoking history, and physical activity (minutes per week) were collected. The SF-36 was used to determine physical and mental health scores and bodily pain. The socio-economic indexes for areas was also used to adjust for differences in socioeconomic status
- The prevalence of low-intensity LBP was 62%, and high intensity LBP was 20%. 73% of the participants had no disability. 16% reported low disability and 11% reported high disability.
- Participants reporting high disability with likely to be older, less educated, current smokers, and from a lower socioeconomic position compared to those who had no LBP or disability.
- All obesity and body composition measures (BMI, waist circumference) were greater in those with LBP or disability compared to those without symptoms.
- The overall results from this large prospective population-based cohort study indicate that obesity measures (BMI, waist circumference) percent body fat and fat mass were all positively associated with LBP intensity and disability independent of fat-free mass.
- These findings are consistent with previous recently published systematic reviews and meta-analysis and strengthens the evidence for the relationship between obesity and lbp intensity and disability.