Prevalence of Low Back Pain and Associated Risk Factors among Farmers in Jeju

Hyun Jung Lee; Jung-Hwan Oh; Jeong Rae Yoo; Seo Young Ko; Jeong Ho Kang; Sung Kgun Lee; Wooseong Jeong; Gil Myeong Seong; Chul Hoo Kang; Sung Wook Song

doi:10.1016/j.shaw.2021.06.003

Prevalence of Low Back Pain and Associated Risk Factors among Farmers in Jeju

Saf Health Work. 2021 Dec;12(4):432-438. doi: 10.1016/j.shaw.2021.06.003. Epub 2021 Jun 25.

Authors

Hyun Jung Lee^{1

2}, Jung-Hwan Oh³, Jeong Rae Yoo⁴, Seo Young Ko⁵, Jeong Ho Kang⁵, Sung Kgun Lee⁵, Wooseong Jeong⁵, Gil Myeong Seong⁴, Chul Hoo Kang³, Sung Wook Song^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, Republic of Korea.
² Graduate Program of Medicine, Ajou University Graduate School, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Neurology, Jeju National University College of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Jeju, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Jeju National University College of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Jeju, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Emergency Medicine, Jeju National University College of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Jeju, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Center for Farmers' Safety and Health, Jeju National University Hospital, Jeju, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Background: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and its associated agricultural work-related, biomechanical factors among this population.

Methods: We analyzed initial survey data from the Safety for Agricultural Injury of Farmers cohort study involving adult farmers in Jeju Island. The prevalence of LBP was calculated with associated factors.

Results: In total, 1,209 participants were included in the analysis. The overall prevalence of LBP was 23.7%. Significant associations for LBP were the type of farming activity, length of farming career, prior agricultural injury within 1 year, and stress levels. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed three biomechanical factors significantly related to LBP: repetitive use of particular body parts; the inappropriate posture of the lower back and neck.

Conclusions: Some occupational, and biomechanical risk factors contribute to LBP. Therefore, postural education, injury prevention education, and psychological support will be needed to prevent LBP.

Keywords: Agriculture; Ergonomics; Farmers; Low back pain; Risk factor.