J Korean Med Sci.  2006 Dec;21(6):1086-1091. 10.3346/jkms.2006.21.6.1086.

A Correlation between Low Back Pain and Associated Factors: A Study Involving 772 Patients who Had Undergone General Physical Examination

• Kwon MA
• Shim WS
• Kim MH
• Gwak MS
• Hahm TS
• Kim GS
• Kim CS
• Choi YH
• Park JH
• Cho HS
• Kim TH

• KMID: 1713124
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2006.21.6.1086

Abstract

Many factors are associated with the development of low back pain. Among them, exercise, obesity, smoking, age, educational level and stress are the most common. This study examined the association of these factors with low back pain. An additional aim was to determine a procedure for preventing low back pain. This study analyzed the responses to a questionnaire sent to 772 individuals who had undergone a medical examination at this hospital in 2003 and excluded the individuals who had shown symptoms or their test results indicated a particular disease. Assuming that there were no variables, individuals who exercised regularly 3-4 times per week would have a lower chance of having low back pain than those who did not exercise regularly. The analysis revealed that individuals with a college degree or higher education have a lower chance of experiencing low back pain than those with only a high school education or even college drop-outs. When the other variables were constant, age, extent of obesity (body mass index), smoking and level of stress were not found to affect the development of low back pain. The level of education was associated with the development of low back pain. However, regular exercise 3-4 times per week or more would be most effective in reducing the incidence and duration of low back pain.

Keyword

Body Mass Index; Patient Education; Exercise; Low Back Pain; Risk Factors

MeSH Terms

Stress, Psychological/epidemiology
Statistics
Smoking/epidemiology
Sex Distribution
Risk Factors
Risk Assessment/*methods
Prognosis
Physical Examination/*statistics & numerical data
Obesity/epidemiology
Middle Aged
Male
Low Back Pain/diagnosis/*epidemiology/prevention & control
Korea/epidemiology
Humans
Female
*Exercise
Educational Status
Comorbidity
Aged, 80 and over
Aged
Age Distribution
Adult
Adolescent

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