Factors associated with low back pain among construction workers in Nepal: A cross-sectional study

Low back pain (LBP) is the commonest cause of disability throughout the world. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with LBP among the construction workers in Nepal.

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among the construction workers working in Banepa and Panauti municipalities of Kavre district, from September 2019 to February 2020. Data was collected purposively by face-to-face interview from 402 eligible participants from the both municipalities using semi-structured questionnaire. Mobile-based data collection was done using KoboCollect. Data were exported to and analysed using R-programming software (R-3.6.2). Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed. All tests were two tailed and performed at 95% confidence interval (CI).

One-year prevalence of LBP among construction workers were 52.0% (95%CI: 47.0-57.0). The higher odds of LBP was reported among females [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.42; 95%CI: 1.12-5.23], those living below poverty-line (aOR = 2.35; 95%CI: 1.32-4.19), participants with more than five years of work experience (aOR = 1.66; 95%CI: 1.01-2.73) and those with intermediate sleep quality (aOR = 2.06; CI: 1.03-4.11). About 80.0% of construction workers with LBP never seek healthcare services due to: a) time constraints (90.9%), b) financial constraints (18.1%) and c) fear of losing wages on seeking healthcare services (40.9%). The majority of the participants (94.8% among those without LBP and 72.3% among those with LBP) did nothing to prevent or manage LBP.

The prevalence of LBP in the past one year was high among construction workers where majority of workers never did anything to prevent or manage LBP. Therefore, the public health professionals should set up the health promotion, education, and interventions aimed at increasing awareness on preventive techniques and predisposing factors of LBP.