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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1559355
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancements and Optimization of Evidence-Based Approaches in Pain ManagementView all articles
Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain in working-age population from 1990 to 2021 and projections for 2050
Provisionally accepted- 1The first affiliated hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- 2The Fifth People's Hospital of Longgang District, Shenzhen, China
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Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, especially among working-age group. This study evaluates the global, regional, and national burden of LBP among individuals aged 15-64 utilizing data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 study.Methods: We assessed trends in incidence, prevalence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for LBP from 1900 to 2021. Age-standardized rates (ASRs) were calculated, and joinpoint regression and decomposition analyses were used to identify key drivers. Future trends were projected through 2050.Results: The prevalence of LBP in working-age group has risen to 452.8 million cases globally, a 52.66% increase since 1990. South Asia reported the highest absolute number of cases, while Central and Eastern Europe showed the highest ASRs. Across all regions, women consistently exhibited higher incidence, prevalence, and DALYs than men. Decomposition analysis revealed that population growth was the main factor contributing to the rising burden. Projections indicate that LBP cases will continue increasing through 2050, particularly among women, although ASRs are expected to decline.Conclusions: The burden of LBP among working-age group is growing due to population expansion. Despite declining ASRs, substantial regional and gender disparities remain, highlighting the need for targeted public health strategies.
Keywords: Low Back Pain, Global burden of disease, Incidence, Prevalence, DALYs
Received: 16 Jan 2025; Accepted: 09 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Lv, Yi, Qiu and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Conggui Qiu, The Fifth People's Hospital of Longgang District, Shenzhen, China
Fengling Wu, The first affiliated hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.