Determinants of Sleep Disturbances Among Patients with Moderate Disability Due to Chronic Lower Back Pain

Aims & Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify the predictors of poor sleep among patients with moderate disability due to chronic lower back pain and to evaluate the potential gender differences in this relationship. Methodology: A Cross-sectional study with a convenience sample was conducted on subjects who were ≥ 18 years of age and reported CLBP. The Pearson correlation test was used to investigate the relationship between sleep quality, gender, pain severity, and disability. Results: 387 CLBP patients were recruited, out of which 43.9% (n = 171) were female and 56.1% (n = 217) were male. Sleep quality and gender were shown to have a significant relationship (r = -0.33, p = 0.05) with females exhibiting lower scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, indicating better sleep quality. Similarly, pain intensity (r = 0.99, p = 0.05) and disability (r = 0.98, p = 0.05) were positively associated with sleep quality. Conclusions: Significant relations between sleep disturbance, gender, physical activity, and pain intensity have been found.