Psychosocial correlates of low-back pain in adolescents

Knowledge is sparse concerning associations between juvenile low-back pain (LBP) and psychosocial factors. A cross-sectional study was performed to study whether juvenile LBP may be associated with self-reported headache and wellbeing, and with social class and parental LBP reported by the parents. The material comprised all adolescents (n=105), aged 14.1-16.1 years, in a rural municipality and in a nearby urban area in inland Norway. The response rate was 84% (n=88). Data were supplied from questionnaires filled out by the adolescents and their parents. Associations were calculated by bivariate and multivariate methods. The level of significance was set at P< or =0.05. In multivariate analyses, associations were found between LBP and both female gender and poor wellbeing, in particular poor self-perceived fitness. There was a tendency towards an association between weekly headache and LBP. No associations were found between social class, parental LBP and juvenile LBP. The results do not confirm hypotheses that social class and parental LBP are related to juvenile LBP. The findings indicate that poor wellbeing, in particular poor self-perceived fitness, is associated with LBP among adolescents.