Abstract:
Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common disorder, which contributes greatly to the
degree of disability (DoD). Body Mass Index (BMI) has been identified as a significant
contributory factor for LBP. Understanding the association between BMI and DoD among
patients with chronic LBP is important to promote the maintenance of a healthy and active
lifestyle.
Objectives: To determine the association between BMI and DoD in patients with chronic LBP
in Sri Lanka.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in selected teaching hospitals in
Sri Lanka under the convenience sampling method including chronic LBP patients who fulfilled
the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Demographic characteristics including age, gender, and
duration of back pain of the participants were collected using a self-administrated questionnaire.
The BMI was calculated. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) values were used to interpret the
DoD of chronic LBP patients. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0.
Results: The study included 212 participants comprised of 58.5% females and 41.5% males
within the age range of 20-60 years. The mean values of age, BMI, ODI, DoD and duration of
LBP were 45.9 (11.4) years, 24.8 (3.9) kgm-2
, 18.0 (6.0), 36.1 (12.2) % and 3.3 (4.4)
years, respectively. A significant association was obtained between BMI and degree of
disability (p<0.01; r=0.22). According to the DoD values of the study population, 10.8%
patients had minimal disability and 60.4% patients had moderate disability while 28.8% patients
had severe disability.
Conclusions: The study concluded that the DoD associated with the BMI among chronic LBP
patients in Sri Lanka. Offering lifestyle modifications to normalize the BMI values could be
important to reduce the DoD in chronic LBP patients.