P1.49: Chronic back pain in the general population in Germany. Results from the National Telephone Health Survey 2002/2003
✍ Scribed by Hannelore Neuhauser; Thomas Ziese
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2004
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 75 KB
- Volume
- 46
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0323-3847
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✦ Synopsis
To determine the prevalence and distribution of chronic back pain in the general adult population in Germany as well as patterns of health care use. Back pain has a high prevalence and carries a high risk of chronification. Chronic back pain is a major public health burden in Germany, however its prevalence in the general population is not known. A nationwide computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) survey was conducted with 8318 men and women aged 18 years and older residing in households with fixed-line telephones in Germany. Participants were selected using the Gabler-Häder telephone sampling method and the next-birthday method for within household selection. 57 % of men and 66 % of women reported back pain during the last year and 22% of men and 29% of women consulted a physician for this reason. One-year prevalence of chronic back pain defined as daily or almost daily back pain over a period of three months was 15% in men and 22% in women, lifetime prevalence 24% in men and 30% in women. Back pain on the day preceding the interview was reported by 17% of men and 27% of women and had a mean intensity on a 1-10 point scale of 4.4 (SD 2.8, no significant difference between men and women). Chronic back pain is a highly prevalent complaint in the general population in Germany. Further analyses will complement our preliminary results and will focus on risk factors associated with chronic back pain and on utilisation of medical services.