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. 2018 Oct 23;6(1):e000569.
doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2018-000569. eCollection 2018.

Is chronic low back pain a risk factor for diabetes? The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study

Ingrid Heuch  1 , Ivar Heuch  2 , Knut Hagen  3   4 , Elin Pettersen Sørgjerd  5 , Bjørn Olav Åsvold  5   6   7 , John-Anker Zwart  1   8
Affiliations

Is chronic low back pain a risk factor for diabetes? The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study

Ingrid Heuch et al. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. .

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the risk of diabetes associated with the presence or absence of chronic low back pain, considering both cross-sectional and cohort data.

Research design and methods: Analyses were based on the Norwegian HUNT2 and HUNT3 surveys of Nord-Trøndelag County. The prevalence of diabetes was compared in groups with and without chronic low back pain among 45 157 participants aged 30-69 years. Associations between low back pain at baseline and risk of diabetes were examined in an 11-year follow-up of 30 380 individuals with no baseline diagnosis of diabetes. The comorbidity between diabetes and low back pain was assessed at the end of follow-up. All analyses were carried out considering generalized linear models incorporating adjustment for other relevant risk factors.

Results: Cross-sectional analyses did not reveal any association between low back pain and diabetes. With adjustment for age, body mass index, physical activity and smoking, the cohort study of women showed a significant association between low back pain at baseline and risk of diabetes (RR 1.30; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.54, p=0.003). The association differed between age groups (p=0.015), with a stronger association in relatively young women. In men, no association was found in the whole age range (RR 1.02; 95% CI 0.86 to 1.21, p=0.82). No association was observed between diabetes and chronic low back pain at the end of follow-up.

Conclusion: Among younger women, those with chronic low back pain may have an increased risk of diabetes.

Keywords: HUNT; cohort; diabetes; low back pain; musculoskeletal disorder.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

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