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Nearly half of health science students experience low back pain over 2 years, with female sex and frequent previous pain significantly associated with higher risk.
Low back pain (LBP) is often viewed as a condition of middle or older age, but a prospective study suggests that young health science students also carry a considerable burden of back pain. Researchers followed health science students from the Zefat Academic College to investigate factors associated with LBP in a younger population, where the condition is increasingly being recognized. Students from medical laboratory science, emergency medical services, nursing, and physiotherapy were included.
Of the 197 students contacted, 172 completed the follow-up, giving an 87.3% response rate. Participants had a mean age of 25 years, with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 23.5 kg/m². At the end of the 2-year follow-up, 84 students (48.8%) reported LBP during the previous month, while 34 students (20%) experienced functional disability.
The analysis found that sex and previous pain frequency were significantly associated with LBP. Male students had lower odds of reporting LBP than female students (odds ratio [OR] 0.269; p=0.005), while students with a history of more frequent pain had higher odds of LBP over time (OR 3.377; p=0.001).
In contrast, the student's field of health science was not significantly associated with LBP (χ²=0.55; p>0.05), suggesting that the burden was not confined to a particular academic program. The findings highlight the substantial burden of LBP among young health science students and support the need for ergonomic awareness, physical activity education, and preventive strategies within this population.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Low Back Pain Characteristics Among Health Science Undergraduates: A Prospective Study for 2-Year Follow Up
Janan Abbas et al.
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