The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Low Back Pain in Children and Adolescents in Iran: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Aims: Nowadays, the prevalence of Low Back Pain (LBP) is a growing problem. The prevalence of LBP in Iran is almost as high as in other countries of the world. There are no accurate data on prevalence of LBP in Iran. Thus, the aim of this research was to estimate the prevalence of LBP and risk factors in Iran during a systematic way. Method and Instruments: Totally, 17 studies of internal databases including Iran Doc, Magiran, SID, Iran Medex, Medlib and external databases including Scopus, Pubmed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, Medline through using keywords like "Iran", "LBP", "children," Adolescents, "Associated Factors", "Prevalence" were obtained. Findings: The prevalence and risk factors of LBP in children and adolescents were obtained from 15 articles with a sample size of 24,175. The lowest and highest prevalence of LBP in children and adolescents were 50% and 7.4%, respectively. Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of LBP in children and adolescents and the numerous demographic, personal, physical, familial and psychological risk factors, the LBP prevent planning for this age group to prevent and promote health is strongly recommended. LBP has a special place in the community's health education, owing to its' prevalence andits impact on health of people during youth and adulthood period. .

Prevalence of chronic pain and contributing factors: a cross-sectional population-based study among 2,379 Iranian adolescents

“…Similar results were obtained in a number of other studies conducted around the world as well as in Iran. Yet, the forms of pain experienced by adolescents in Iran and around the world varied statistically [19,20,[28][29][30]. These variations mainly resulted from methodological differences rather than population differences, including research design (cross-sectional or longitudinal), data collection method (questionnaire, interview, or examination), localization and definition of the pain (e.g., back pain), different definitions of point prevalence, and different age groups.…”

“…Stress, key life events, excessive homework and tasks at school, separation from parents, frequent changes of residence, and lack of leisure time have all been identified as risk factors for chronic pain in adolescents [16][17][18]. However, most studies in Iran have focused on one form of pain in children and adolescents such as low back pain, musculoskeletal pain, or headache [19,20]. Furthermore, variables such as parenting characteristics, as well as pain-related outcomes such as absenteeism have not been taken into account.…”