The Relationship Between the Neck and Low Back Pain in Association with Gender

Abstract Background: There are very few large population studies in Turkey that evaluate the risk factors associated with low back and neck pain in terms of gender. This study aimed to reveal the determinants of the co-occurrence of low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP) in terms of gender by synthesizing evidence regarding the risk factors of LBP and NP disease burden. Methods: The study obtains the up-to-date 2019 Turkey Health Survey data from the Turkish Statistical Institute and covers 8163 families with 16253 individuals aged 18 and older. The dependent variable consisted of those who had neither LBP nor NP, had one, and had both, within the last 12 months using the random-effects ordered probit model. Results: The 1-year total prevalence of LBP and/or NP in the Turkish population in 2019 was 39.49%. The dual burden of disease was 2.34 times higher in women than in men. In both sexes, the prevalence of dual disease increased significantly with increasing age and in the presence of severe obesity (P<0.05). When double disease prevalence in women compared with men, it was investigated that it was 2.49 times less common in unmarried people, 1.76 times less in those with a bachelor's degree, 1.79 times less in those who walked for more than an hour a day, and 2.83 times less in those who consumed one meal or more of fruit a day. As the monthly income of women increases, the probability of having a double disease decreases by 2.2 times compared to the probability of contracting a single disease. However, when the prevalence of double disease in women was compared with men, it was 3.94 times higher for the employed, 6 times higher for smokers, and 1.5 times higher for those with depression. Conclusions: By disaggregating the data according to gender, statistical relationships between each group's LBP and NP burden and some risk factors were revealed to facilitate the treatment of modifiable risk factors.