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The prevalence and characteristics of low back pain among sitting workers in a Japanese manufacturing company

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Orthopaedic Science

Abstract

Background

Low back pain (LBP) is a major public health problem and the most common cause of workers’ disability, resulting in substantial economic burden in terms of workers’ compensation and medical costs. Sitting is a recognized potential risk factor for developing LBP. Therefore, eliminating risk factors associated with working conditions and individual work capacity may be beneficial in preventing LBP in sitting workers. The purpose of this prospective cross-sectional study is to investigate the prevalence of LBP and examine risk factors that contribute to the development of LBP in sitting workers at an electronics manufacturing company.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was administered to all subjects to assess the prevalence of LBP persisting for at least 48 h during the recent week. Data on demographic characteristics and potential risk factors for LBP were collected at routine annual check-ups. Patients with LBP completed the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ), which provided information on the attributes of LBP. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses examined the association between LBP and potential risk factors.

Results

Of the 1,329 sitting workers, 201 (15.1 %) acknowledged experiencing LBP during the recent week. In female workers, weight and body mass index were significantly correlated with the RDQ score. Univariate analyses identified male sex, prior history of LBP, height ≥170 cm, and weight ≥70 kg as significant risk factors of LBP. Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified prior history of LBP and past history of lumbar spine surgery as significant risk factors of LBP.

Conclusions

This study characterized the prevalence and attributes of LBP in Japanese sitting workers and provided information about potential risk factors contributing to occurrence of LBP in the workplace.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, 1-15-1, Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan

    Gen Inoue, Masayuki Miyagi, Kentaro Uchida & Masashi Takaso

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan

    Tetsuhiro Ishikawa, Hiroto Kamoda, Yawara Eguchi, Sumihisa Orita, Kazuyo Yamauchi, Kei-ichi Tsuchiya, Kazuhisa Takahashi & Seiji Ohtori

  3. TDK Narita factory, Narita, Chiba, Japan

    Kei-ichi Tsuchiya

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  1. Gen Inoue
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  2. Masayuki Miyagi
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Inoue, G., Miyagi, M., Uchida, K. et al. The prevalence and characteristics of low back pain among sitting workers in a Japanese manufacturing company. J Orthop Sci 20, 23–30 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-014-0644-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-014-0644-x

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