Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Mar 16:7:29.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-7-29.

Is comorbidity in adolescence a predictor for adult low back pain? A prospective study of a young population

Lise Hestbaek  1 , Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde, Kirsten O Kyvik
Affiliations

Is comorbidity in adolescence a predictor for adult low back pain? A prospective study of a young population

Lise Hestbaek et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: It has previously been shown that low back pain (LBP) often presents already in the teenage years and that previous LBP predicts future LBP. It is also well documented that there is a large degree of comorbidity associated with LBP, both in adolescents and adults. The objective of this study is to gain a deeper insight into the etiology of low back pain and to possibly develop a tool for early identification of high-risk groups. This is done by investigating whether different types of morbidity in adolescence are associated with LBP in adulthood.

Methods: Almost 10,000 Danish twins born between 1972 and 1982 were surveyed by means of postal questionnaires in 1994 and again in 2002. The questionnaires dealt with various aspects of general health, including the prevalence of LBP, classified according to number of days affected during the previous year (0, 1-7, 8-30, >30). The predictor variables used in this study were LBP, headache, asthma and atopic disease at baseline; the outcome variable was persistent LBP (>30 days during the past year) at follow-up. Associations between morbidity in 1994 and LBP in 2002 were investigated.

Results: LBP, headache and asthma in adolescence were positively associated with future LBP. There was no association between atopic disease and future LBP. Individuals with persistent LBP at baseline had an odds ratio of 3.5 (2.8-4.5) for future LBP, while the odds ratio for those with persistent LBP, persistent headache and asthma was 4.5 (2.5-8.1). There was a large degree of clustering of these disorders, but atopic disease was not part of this pattern.

Conclusion: Young people from 12 to 22 years of age with persistent LBP during the previous year have an odds ratio of 3.5 persistent LBP eight years later. Both headache and asthma are also positively associated with future LBP and there is a large clustering of LBP, headache and asthma in adolescence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of persistent LBP at follow-up in various subgroups of baseline-morbidity. Percentage with 95% confidence interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Biering-Sørensen F, Kjøller M. Musculo-skeletal diseases. Ugeskrift for læger. 2004;166:1331–2. [Danish] - PubMed
    1. Kjøller M, Rasmussen NK, (eds) Health and morbidity in Denmark 2000 and the development since 1987. Copenhagen 2002: National Institute of Public Health, Øster Farimagsgade 5A,2, 1399 Copenhagen K, Denmark; [In Danish]
    1. Pincus T, Burton AK, Vogel S, Field AP. A systematic review of psychological factors as predictors of chronicity/disability in prospective cohorts of low back pain. Spine. 2002;27:E109–20. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200203010-00017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Seferlis T, Németh G, Carlsson A, Gillström P. Acute low-back-pain patients exhibit a four-fold increase in sick leave for other disorders: A case-control study. J Spin Dis. 1999;12:280–6. - PubMed
    1. Hurwitz EL, Morgenstern H. Correlates of back problems and back-related disability in the United States. J Clin Epidemiol. 1997;50:669–81. doi: 10.1016/S0895-4356(97)00018-8. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types