To test the hypothesis that reports of back pain in a working population are associated with parenthood.
A questionnaire survey of back pain in municipal fire fighters and police officers in a municipality in Ontario, Canada. The questionnaire was distributed to current employees of fire and police departments. The survey was completed by 129 fire fighters (68% of the active force) and 346 police officers (74% of the force).
36% of the respondents complained of a back problem. The prevalence increased from 13% among men aged 19 to 28 to 47% among men aged 49 to 59. The complaint was more common among firefighters (42%) than among police officers (33%). In a logistic regression analysis, back problems were significantly associated with the duration of employment, cigarette smoking, and the number of children.
Back pain is a multifactorial problem with significant impact on the working population. This survey has found that parenthood, a risk factor not previously described among men, is associated with self reported back pain. The mechanism presumably involves lifting of children or recreational factors. Fatherhood seems to be a confounder that should be controlled for in studies of occupational causes of back pain.
Notes
Cites: Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1980 Sep-Oct;5(5):419-236450452
Cites: Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1984 May-Jun;9(4):400-46236565
Cites: Occup Med. 1988 Jan-Mar;3(1):7-162963393
Cites: Scand J Work Environ Health. 1991 Apr;17(2):81-901828614
Cites: J Occup Med. 1992 Feb;34(2):129-341534579
Comment In: Occup Environ Med. 1995 Oct;52(10):699-7007489063