Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 24, 2025
Biomechanical Changes Related to Low Back Pain: An Innovative Tool for Movement Pattern Assessment and Treatment Evaluation in Rehabilitation
Published on: December 13, 2024
Nature and nurture. Genetic and environmental factors on the relationship between back pain and sleep quality
Juan J Madrid-Valero1, Alessandro Andreucci2,3, Eduvigis Carrillo4,5
1Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
Background:
Chronic low back pain (LBP), neck pain (NP), and sleep quality (SQ) are genetically influenced. All three conditions frequently co-occur and shared genetic aetiology on a pairwise base has been reported. However, to our knowledge, no study has yet investigated if these three conditions are influenced by the same genetic and environmental factors and the extent and pattern of genetic overlap between them, hence the current research.
Methods:
The sample included 2134 participants. Lifetime prevalence of NP and LBP were assessed through a dichotomous self-reported question derived from the Spanish National Health Survey. SQ was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Questionnaire. A common pathway model with sleep quality and back pain as latent factors was fitted.
Results:
Our results highlight that a latent back pain factor, including both NP and LBP, is explained by both genetic (41%) and environmental (59%) factors. There are also significant unique environmental factors for NP (33%) and LBP (37%) respectively. Yet, specific genetic factors were scant (9%) for NP and negligible for LBP (0%). Genetic and environmental factors affecting SQ only contribute with 3% and 5% of the variance, respectively, to the common latent back pain variable.
Conclusions:
NP and LBP share most of their genetic variance, while environmental effects show greater specificity for each of the back pain locations. Associations with SQ were of a limited magnitude.
Significance:
Our results confirm a significant association between both chronic NP and LBP and sleep quality. Such relationship comprises both genetic and environmental factors, with a greater relative weight of the latter. A large part of the individual variance for chronic LBP and chronic NP can be accounted for by a latent common factor of 'back pain'. Genetic influences for LBP and NP were mainly shared. However, environmental influences were common for both problems and specific for each of them in similar magnitudes.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Primary Motives: Sleep, Sex, and Pain Avoidance
Sleep is a fundamental physiological drive that fosters a state of restfulness crucial for several bodily functions. It facilitates body restoration, the process by which the body repairs, rejuvenates, and maintains itself during sleep, including memory...
01:13Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
01:53Cause and Effect
01:24Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
01:28Factors affecting Blood pressure
Physiological Factors:
01:11Understanding Sleep
The circadian rhythm, a nearly 24-hour cycle, is deeply influenced by environmental light cues. Light exposure directly affects the hypothalamus, which in turn regulates...