Incidence and Risk Factors of Low Back Pain in Students Studying at a Health University

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, severity, and risk factors of low back pain in students studying at a health university. Methods: The study was conducted on students of dentistry, pharmacy, health sciences, and medicine faculties of Bezmialem Vakif University. The data were gathered using a 35-question survey. Five hundred and twenty students completed the questionnaire. Four hundred and seventyone (90.57%) of them answered pain-specific questions. Visual analogue scale was used to assess pain intensity. The presence of low back pain and pain severity were determined as two dependent variables. p<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Of the participants, 131 (25.19%) were male and 389 (74.80%) were female. Differences of low back pain incidence were significant between the students of medicine faculty and other faculties (p=0.004), between those who had weight exchange and non-weight exchange (p=0.023), and between those who were not pleased with the desk and those who were pleased (p=0.000). Pain intensity in female students (p=0.003); those with hereditary disease in the spine (p=0.022), and those with economical, familial, or school-related anxiety (p=0.001) were higher than in others. Conclusion: This study confirmed whether the risk factors indicated in literature were valid in the study university. Courses, which are devoted to risk factors, may be added to education programs to prevent problems related to low back that may occur because of attending classes.

Prevalence and correlates of low back pain among undergraduate medical students in Serbia, a cross-sectional study

“…In contrast, in studies where a link between cigarette smoking and LBP was not found ( Algarni et al, 2017 ; Aggarwal et al, 2013 ; AlShayhan & Saadeddin, 2018 ; Smith et al, 2005 ; Haroon et al, 2018 ) prevalence of smoking was less than 10% in both students with and without LBP. Besides that, the lack of association between cigarette smoking and LBP in the majority of studies can be attributed to young age of medical students in whom LBP has not occurred yet: while in our study and in the study by Hafeez et al (2013) , where an association between cigarette smoking and LBP was found, the average age of participants was 22 and over, in studies where this association was not found, the average age of students was less than 22 ( Algarni et al, 2017 ; Aggarwal et al, 2013 ; AlShayhan & Saadeddin, 2018 ; Smith et al, 2005 ; Haroon et al, 2018 ; Yucel & Torun, 2016 ). Also, study participants were medical students in whom education is encouraging them to give up smoking.…”

“…Also, some authors reported point prevalence of 13.0% among medical students at one university in Pakistan ( Hafeez et al, 2013 ). Contrary to these findings, 32.5% of undergraduate students of a medical college in Delhi suffered from LBP at the time of survey ( Aggarwal et al, 2013 ), as well as 34.6% of students studying at health-related faculties at one university in Turkey ( Yucel & Torun, 2016 ). The prevalence of LBP was found to be the highest among medical students in Saudi Arabia: for example, the week prevalence of LBP among medical students ranged from 40.5% at university hospitals in Riyadh ( Algarni et al, 2017 ), to 52.5% among medical students of Jazan University ( Dighriri et al, 2019 ).…”

“…On the other hand, Vujcic et al (2018) did not collect data about family history of LBP in medical students in Belgrade. Also, some authors revealed that the severity of LBP was higher in health university students with a history of hereditary spinal diseases ( Yucel & Torun, 2016 ). Therefore, particularly those medical students with positive family history of LBP or other musculoskeletal disorders constitute a vulnerable population in which LBP prevention measures should be implemented still during studies.…”

“…While our study did not find a significant impact of physical activity (such as recreational sports, housework, etc. ), numerous studies have consistently been showing that regular exercise provides significantly good effects on LBP occurrence, but without statistical significance (Algarni et al, 2017;Dighriri et al, 2019;AlShayhan & Saadeddin, 2018;Falavigna et al, 2011;Yucel & Torun, 2016;Smith et al, 2005;Haroon et al, 2018). On the other hand, the association between certain factors (female gender, history of trauma, etc.)…”

Low back pain and associated risk factors among medical students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

“…Compared to this study, 12-month prevalence of LBP was lower among the medical students in Pakistan (38.6%), 19 China (40.1%), 20 the US (42.8%), 21 Malaysia (46.1%), 22 India (47.5%), 10 Austria (53.4%), 14 Serbia (59.5%), 5 Brazil (59.9%), 23 Saudi Arabia (61.4%), 20 and was higher among the medical students in Turkey (96.4%). 34 The discrepancy in the LBP prevalence could be from some factors, including the variation of faculty year of study, academic curriculum, methodological heterogenicity, mode of data collection, cross-cultural factors, and subjective perception of pain. 35,36 Socio-demographic factors and LBP prevalence The findings of the study showed that sex and weight are two socio-demographic factors that were associated with 12-month prevalence of LBP among Bangladeshi medical students.…”