Evidence & Methods
Low back pain is one of the most frequent conditions for which patients seek medical care. There is little information regarding risk factors that predispose to the development of low back pain.
The authors performed a systematic review of the literature and performed a meta-analysis to describe the incidence of, and risk factors for, low back pain. The pooled incidence of low back pain was 26% for both community-based and occupational populations. Psychosocial and physical factors both appeared to play a role, although firm conclusions were limited by between-study heterogeneity.
The integrity of a meta-analysis rests solely on the quality of data presented in the studies selected for inclusion. The substantial heterogeneity between the papers selected for the meta-analysis presented here clearly impairs any broad conclusions, as the authors correctly state in their limitations section. At a minimum, this effort highlights the poor quality of the literature with respect to primary prevention of low back pain and identifies the need for further research in this regard.
—The Editors