Low back pain affects 10% of the world’s population and is the cause of a third of work-related disabilities.
Back pain is more and more frequent and especially disabling. It is the leading cause of disability in the world. A third of the disabilities caused by work are due to low back pain. This is the finding made by American and Australian researchers in two studies published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases.
Western Europe most affected
They worked on statistics from 187 countries, and determined that nearly 10% of the world’s population, including children, suffer from low back pain. The countries most affected are Western Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, while the lowest rates are observed in Latin America and the Caribbean. But we should see more and more people with back pain in low and middle income countries in the coming decades.
Farmers most at risk
Farmers and people aged 35 to 65 are most at risk because they carry heavy loads or work in unsuitable positions. Farmers are thus four times more likely to suffer from low back pain than people working in other professional sectors.
The statistics used come from a study supported by the World Health Organization (The Global Burden of Disease, 2010), which assesses mortality and loss of health due to 291 diseases.
.
