Risk factors for low back pain and its relation with pain related disability and depression in a Turkish sample

To investigate the relation of depression and pain-related disability associated with Low Back Pain (LBP).

The Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Zung Depression Scale were sent to 3800 randomly select adults in Kayseri, Turkey. The demographic characteristics of the participants (Socioeconomic status, age etc) and low back pain (frequency, intensity, duration) features together with pain-related factors were investigated in responding participants. The participants who had self-reported LBP during the study period were accepted as the study group.

807 (37.1%) of the participants reported that they had low back pain at the time of interview. The study group had a score of 52.91+/-24.20 mm for VAS, 52.30+/-10.67 for the Zung Depression Scale and 24.53+/-17.22 for the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale. Age, female gender, smoking ( > 20 cigarettes per day), low socioeconomical status and living in a rural habitat were found to be associated with low back pain. Depression (P= 0.017) and disability (P= 0.002) were found to be independent risk factors for VAS.

Determination of the frequency and intensity of low back pain and related factors is needed for the prevention and management of pain. Mood disorders and self reported restriction in daily activities should be screened in patients with low back pain.