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Epidemiology

Low back pain is a growing concern

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 19, page 462 (2023)Cite this article

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Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide. A systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021 has now provided the latest estimates of the prevalence and burden of LBP in the general population at regional, national and global levels from 1999 to 2020, as well as the projected prevalence of LBP to 2050, using data from 204 countries and territories.

The publication in Lancet Rheumatology reports that there were an estimated 619 million cases of LBP globally in 2020. Although age-standardized rates of prevalence declined slightly from 1990 to 2020, the number of cases is projected to rise to 843 million by 2050, representing a 36.4% increase. In most regions, population growth is the main reason for this projected increase in LBP prevalence, although in some regions, population ageing is the main contributing factor.

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Original article

  • GBD 2021 Low Back Pain Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain, 1990–2020, its attributable risk factors, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Rheumatol. 5, e316–e329 (2023)

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  1. Nature Reviews Rheumatology http://www.nature.com/nrrheum/

    Sarah Onuora

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  1. Sarah Onuora
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Correspondence to Sarah Onuora.

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Onuora, S. Low back pain is a growing concern. Nat Rev Rheumatol 19, 462 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-023-00999-1

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