COPD is Associated with Higher Prevalence of Back Pain: Results of a Population-Based Case-Control Study, 2017

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to assess whether patients suffering from COPD have a higher prevalence of chronic back pain (neck and low back pain) than age-, sex-, and residence-matched non-COPD controls. We also aimed to identify which variables are associated with chronic neck pain (CNP) and chronic low back pain (CLBP) among COPD patients.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective case-control study using data obtained from the Spanish National Health Survey conducted in 2017.

Results: We analyzed data from 1034 COPD and 1034 matched non-COPD controls. The prevalence of CNP and CLBP was 38.20% and 45.16%, respectively, among COPD patients and 22.82% and 28.34% for non-COPD controls, respectively (p<0.001 for both). Multivariable analysis showed that COPD patients had a 1.62-fold (95% CI 1.50-1.74) higher risk of CNP and a 1.83-fold (95% CI 1.73-1.91) higher risk of CLBP than non-COPD controls. Experiencing one type of pain greatly increased the risk of having the other. Factors associated with the presence of both types of pain among COPD patients included female sex, "fair/poor/very poor" self-rated health, migraine or frequent headache and use of pain medication. Being aged from 70 to 79 years was a risk factor for CLBP, and suffering from a mental disorder was a risk factor for CNP.

Conclusion: The prevalence of CNP and CLBP was significantly higher among COPD patients than among non-COPD controls after adjusting for age, sex and other relevant clinical variables. Our findings add new data to the knowledge of chronic pain in COPD patients.

Keywords: COPD; comorbidities; low back pain; neck pain; pain medication.