Ab0144 Low Back Pain and Professional Factors: Results of a Tunisian Survey

Background: Low back pain is the most common musculoskeletal disorder affecting working adults. It has been shown that certain professional factors influence functional limitation and disability in patients with LBP. Objectives: To assess the impact of professional conditions on LBP. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional electronic study consisting of an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed via the google-forms platform and contained 53 questions. The proposed questions covered socio-demographic, personal, professional and lifestyle data, assessment of LBP via the Nordic Musculoskeletal health questionnaire and its impact via the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). Results: Three hundred and forty-four participants responded to this survey, most of them were women, with a sex ratio (female/male) of 3.52. The mean age was 34.98±8.53 years. Twenty-nine percent of them had a family history of LBP. Mean height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were 1.69±0.08 m, 70.62±14.19 kg and 24.52±4.88 kg/m2. One hundred and three participants were overweight (BMI between 25 and 30 kg/m2) and 40 were obese (BMI≥30 kg/m2). According to the Nordic questionnaire, the point, annual and lifetime prevalence of LBP were 68.9%, 81.7%, and 95.6%, respectively. The mean ODI was 9.43±6.40, distributed as no disability (26.4%), mild (55.5%), moderate (15.4%) and severe (2.7%). Of the participants, 55.8% were employed, 31.4% students, 6.7% housewives and 6.1% unemployed. The prevalence of LBP among employees was 81.7%, with a mean ODI of 10.42±6.33. The main occupations were office work (33.3%), healthcare (29.4%) and manual labor (24.3%). During work, 65.4% of participants maintained a long static sitting or standing position (>4 hours), 21.2% had to perform forward bending and body torsions, 13.1% had to handle heavy loads and perform repetitive movements, and 0.3% were exposed to vibrations. Weights carried during labor were under 15 kg per cycle in 62.8% of cases, and over 15 kg for the rest. Moreover, repetitive movements exceeding 40 per minute were noted in 34.4% of cases. Regarding the transport modes to and from work, 22.4% used public transport, 61.6% went by car, 15.4% on foot and 0.6% by bike. Twenty-eight percent of them consider their commute to work restrictive. The professional factors associated with LBP were prolonged sitting (p=0.028) and standing positions (p=0.001), weight of loads carried (p=0.036), repetitive movements (p=0.007), and commute to work by car (p=0.049) and public transport (p=0.016). Conclusion: Our study showed a high prevalence of LBP in the general population and among employees. Occupational factors such as prolonged sitting and standing positions, weight of loads carried, repetitive movements and commute to work were associated. REFERENCES: 1 Dickinson CE, Campion K, Foster AF, Newman SJ, O'Rourke AM, Thomas PG. Questionnaire development: an examination of the Nordic Musculoskeletal questionnaire. Appl Ergon. 1992 Jun;23(3):197-201. doi: 10.1016/0003-6870(92)90225-k. PMID: 15676868. 2 Fairbank JC, Pynsent PB. The Oswestry Disability Index. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2000 Nov 15;25(22):2940-52; discussion 2952. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200011150-00017. PMID: 11074683. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.