Prevalence and risk factors of low back pain among the university staff.

BACKGROUND

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders in the population especially in working population. Many intrinsic and extrinsic factors have been evaluated for associated factor for LBP Epidemiological researches have been provided information on the prevalence and risk factors of LBP in the workers. Little information has related individual and work-related factors to the prevalence of LBP among the university staff in Thailand.

AIM

The author aims to investigate the prevalence of LBP and explore risk factors of LBP among university staff in the government sector.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 1183 university staff on the list by official messenger. Data were collected over three months between October and December 2008. The questionnaire included low back pain information, demographic data, work-related characteristics, and habitual physical activity level. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and multivariate logistic regression techniques. The 6-month prevalence and associated risk factors were presented.

RESULTS

Eight hundred and three staff returned the questionnaires (response rate of 67.9%). The past 6-month prevalence of self-reported LBP was 22.3% (95% CI: 19.4-25.2). The result of multivariate analysis showed that habitual physical activity level were found to be independent factors associated with the LBP (p-value = 0.048 by LRT) after adjusted for gender nutritional level and work activity in a day. The physical activity as athletic level appeared to be the protective effect when compared to sedentary level (adjusted OR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.20-0.94).

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of the study, the physical activity as athletic level appears to be associated with the 6-month prevalence of LBP Consequently, it is important that prevention programs take into account this risk factor in order to reduce the frequency of low back injuries in university staff and improve their work efficiency.