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
. 2019 Jan;160(1):237-245.
doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001396.

The prevalence and years lived with disability caused by low back pain in China, 1990 to 2016: findings from the global burden of disease study 2016

Aimin Wu  1 , Wenlan Dong  2 , Shiwei Liu  2 , Jason Pui Yin Cheung  3 , Kenny Yat Hong Kwan  3 , Xinying Zeng  2 , Kai Zhang  1 , Zhenyu Sun  1 , Xiangyang Wang  4 , Kenneth Man Chee Cheung  3 , Maigeng Zhou  2 , Jie Zhao  1
Affiliations

The prevalence and years lived with disability caused by low back pain in China, 1990 to 2016: findings from the global burden of disease study 2016

Aimin Wu et al. Pain. 2019 Jan.

Abstract

The aim of this work was to quantify the prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) caused by low back pain (LBP) in China from 1990 to 2016. Data from the GBD 2016 (Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016) were used. We analyzed the age-sex-province-specific prevalence and YLDs for LBP of 33 provinces/regions in China. Comparisons were made with the data retrieved from the 1990 GBD study. We estimated that 5.45 × 10 individuals had LBP in 1990, which rose to 6.73 × 10 in 2016. The age-standardized prevalence of LBP decreased from 5.6% (95% uncertainty interval [95% UI]: 4.9%-6.3%) in 1990 to 4.2% (95% UI: 3.8%-4.8%) in 2016. The YLDs for LBP increased from 6.2 million (95% UI: 4.3-8.3 million) in 1990 to 7.7 million (95% UI: 5.4-10.2) in 2016. Age-standardized YLD rate (per 100,000 person) decreased from 637.5 (95% UI: 449.9-848.8) in 1990 to 481.9 (95% UI: 338.6-637.0) in 2016. A female preponderance was observed for prevalence and YLDs. The prevalence and YLDs rate for LBP slightly decreased from 1990 to 2016 in China; however, the total individuals and YLDs increased. Low back pain still ranks as the second leading cause of YLD burden disease in China. Considerable attention should be paid for LBP, especially in the female population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The trends of low back pain in China from 1990 to 2016. (A) 5.45 × 107 individuals had low back pain in 1990, and rising to 6.73 × 107 in 2016. (B) The age-standardized point prevalence of low back pain decreased from 5.6% (95% UI: 4.9%-6.3%) in 1990 to 4.2% (95% UI: 3.8%-4.8%) in 2016. UI, uncertainty interval.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Age-specific analysis indicates that the point prevalence increased with age in both 1990 and 2016, with a faster rise in females than in males. The point prevalence of both sexes peaked at 85 to 89 years, followed by a slight decrease. The sex disparity in point prevalence appears at 15 to 19 years in 1990, whereas appears at 25 to 29 years in 2016.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The age-standardized point prevalence of low back pain in 33 provinces/regions in China (without the data of Taiwan). The age-standardized point prevalence in most provinces/regions (29/33) was more than 5.0% in 1990, with only slight disparity, whereas most of them (32/33) were less than 5.0% in 2016.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Age-specific analysis indicates that as the age increases, the years lived with disability (YLDs) is increased first, and then decreased. The peak age category is 35 to 39 years in 1990 and 45 to 49 years in 2016.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bailey A. Risk factors for low back pain in women: still more questions to be answered. Menopause 2009;16:3–4. - PubMed
    1. Breivik H, Collett B, Ventafridda V, Cohen R, Gallacher D. Survey of chronic pain in Europe: prevalence, impact on daily life, and treatment. Eur J Pain 2006;10:287. - PubMed
    1. Buchbinder R, van Tulder M, Öberg B, Costa LM, Woolf A, Schoene M, Croft P, Lancet Low Back Pain Series Working Group. Low back pain: a call for action. Lancet 2018;391:2384–8. - PubMed
    1. Chen Y, Campbell P, Strauss VY, Foster NE, Jordan KP, Dunn KM. Trajectories and predictors of the long-term course of low back pain: cohort study with 5-year follow-up. PAIN 2017;159:252–60. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Deyo RA, Cherkin D, Conrad D, Volinn E. Cost, controversy, crisis: low back pain and the health of the public. Annu Rev Public Health 1991;12:141–56. - PubMed

MeSH terms