Associations between low back pain and depression and somatization in a Canadian emerging adult population

The association between depression, somatization and low back pain has been minimally investigated in a Canadian emerging adult population.

1013 first year Canadian university students completed the Modified Zung Depression Index, the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire, and a survey about low back pain frequency and intensity. Multinomial logistic regression was used to measure associations between low back pain and depression and somatization, both independently and co-occurring.

Over 50% of subjects reported low back pain across grades, and both depression and somatization were significantly positively associated with low back pain. Several positive associations between the cooccurrence of somatization and depression with various grades of low back pain were observed.

These results suggest that low back pain, depression and somatization are relatively common at the onset of adulthood, and should be considered an important focus of public health.