"Cross-sectional" study of low back pain among workers at an industrial enterprise in Russia

Abstract

Study design: A representative sample of 18- to 65-year-old workers from a machine-building factory was studied using a standardized questionnaire.

Objectives: To study the prevalence of low back pain syndrome among workers at an industrial enterprise and to estimate the association between low back pain syndrome and certain factors.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 800 workers (400 men and 400 women), who were invited to participate in the study. Seven-hundred-and-one (87.6%) persons took part in the study--339 (84.7%) men and 362 (90.5%) women.

Results: The life-time prevalence of low back pain complaints was 48.2%. The prevalence during the last year was 31.5%, and point prevalence was 11.5%. The number of patients with low back pain complaints increased with age. The duration of a low back pain episode was less than 2 weeks in 88.2% of the patients, and more than 12 weeks in only in 1.8% of the patients. Analysis of some social, individual, and professional factors revealed associations between low back pain and low level of education, marital status, absence of sports activity, intensity of smoking, and frequent lifting and bending during the work day.

Conclusion: Our study revealed a high prevalence of low back pain among workers at an industrial enterprise. This low back pain was primarily of an acute nature.