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. 2018 Mar 9;18(1):341.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5253-8.

Association between objectively measured physical activity and body mass index with low back pain: a large-scale cross-sectional study of Japanese men

Yuko Hashimoto  1 , Ko Matsudaira  2 , Susumu S Sawada  3 , Yuko Gando  4 , Ryoko Kawakami  5 , Robert A Sloan  6 , Chihiro Kinugawa  7 , Takashi Okamoto  7 , Koji Tsukamoto  7 , Motohiko Miyachi  4 , Hisashi Naito  1
Affiliations

Association between objectively measured physical activity and body mass index with low back pain: a large-scale cross-sectional study of Japanese men

Yuko Hashimoto et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The relationship between the combination of physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI) with low back pain (LBP) is unclear. The present study offers a cross-sectional assessment of how combinations of PA and BMI are related to LBP in Japanese men.

Methods: Participants were 4022 Japanese men (mean age = 47) who underwent regular clinical examinations. PA was measured using a uniaxial accelerometer and divided into tertiles (PAhigh, PAmiddle, PAlow). A self-administered questionnaire was used to report on persistent LBP experience, drinking and smoking habits, and any existing lifestyle diseases. After covariance adjustment, a logistic regression model was used to assess how combinations of PA and BMI are related to persistent LBP.

Results: 428 of the participants had persistent LBP. A clear negative dose-response relationship was found between PA levels and persistent LBP (P for linearity = 0.012). Regarding BMI, odd ratios were shown to be higher in the overweight/obese category (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) than for the normal weight category (BMI < 25 kg/m2). When the PAhigh was taken as the reference in the normal weight category, odds ratios for PAlow and PAmiddle in the normal weight category were shown to be high. Moreover, in the overweight/obese category, odd ratios for every fitness level were also high as for the normal weight category.

Conclusion: The present study showed that both PA and BMI are related to persistent LBP. Also, the prevalence of persistent LBP became higher when PAlow and high BMI are combined rather than the group of PAhigh and low BMI combination.

Keywords: Accelerometry; Body mass index; Epidemiology; Low back pain; Physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

In our study, the participants gave written informed consent before beginning of the study. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (290–01).

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the sample selection for the present study
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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