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. 2023 Sep 22;15(9):e45760.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.45760. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Chronic Low Back Pain: Prevalence, Impact on Quality of Life, and Predictors of Future Disability

Enas Alfalogy  1   2 , Sahar Mahfouz  3 , Samah Elmedany  4 , Nahla Hariri  2 , Salah Fallatah  5
Affiliations

Chronic Low Back Pain: Prevalence, Impact on Quality of Life, and Predictors of Future Disability

Enas Alfalogy et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background: In primary healthcare settings, chronic low back pain (cLBP) is a widespread health issue with a great global impact.

Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was performed on 918 adults attending primary healthcare settings in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, to estimate the cLBP prevalence, its effect on health-related quality of life (QOL), and predictors of subsequent disability. The visual analog scale of pain (VAS), World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHO-QOL), and Oswestry low back pain disability index (ODI) were used to assess back pain severity, impact on QOL, and physical disability, respectively.

Results: The prevalence of cLBP among adults attending primary care settings in Makkah City was 25.9%, and 88.6% of them had a limited range of motion of the spine. About 58.1% had abnormal radiological findings detected by MRI. Based on the VAS scale, most patients (83.8%) had mild pain. The median (IQR) QOL score was 70 (60-80). Minimal and moderate disability scores were prevalent among 16.2% and 65.7% of patients, respectively. Disability scores were independently predicted by a lower QOL score (beta = -0.39, 95%CI = -0.49 to -0.29, p < 0.001) and higher VAS scores (beta = 0.47, 95%CI = 0.38-0.56, p < 0.001). Furthermore, disability was independently associated with having post-void residual volume (PVRV) (beta = 5.84, 95%CI = 1.97-9.72, p = 0.004) and abnormal X-ray findings (beta = 7.10, 95%CI = 1.77-12.4, p = 0.010).

Conclusion: cLBP is common among adults attending primary care settings in Makkah City; it is associated with moderate disability and lower health-related QOL.

Keywords: disability; low back pain; prevalence rate; primary healthcare center; quality of life (qol).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Prevalence of chronic low back pain among patients under study.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Proportions of different categories of the VAS scale (A) and the ODI questionnaire (B).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Scatterplots depicting the correlations between the ODI score and the quality-of-life score (A) and the VAS score (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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