• Erdal Gilgil, Cahit Kaçar, Bülent Bütün, Tiraje Tuncer, Sevgi Urhan, Cinar Yildirim, Günsel Sünbüloglu, Volkan Arikan, Ibrahim Tekeoglu, Mehmet C Oksüz, and Umit Dündar.
• Division of Rheumatology, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey. erdalgilgil@akdeniz.edu.tr
• Spine. 2005 May 1; 30 (9): 1093-8.

Study DesignA cross-sectional survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews.ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in an urban population of Turkey and to determine the factors associated with occurrence of LBP.Summary Of Background DataLittle information exists in the literature regarding the epidemiology of LBP in developing countries. A few data from previous studies suggest that the prevalence of LBP is rather lower in developing countries compared with developed countries.MethodsA total of 100 clusters of households (3,215 residents aged 16 years or older) in municipality area of Antalya was selected by systematic sampling. Of these, 3,173 study participants agreed to interview. The response rate was 98.7%.ResultsThe crude lifetime, 12-month, and point prevalences of LBP were 46.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 44.9-48.3), 35.9% (95% CI, 34.2-37.6), and 20.1% (95% CI, 18.7-21.5), respectively. In logistic regression analysis, age of 36 years or older, female sex, multiparity, being a housewife, being from East Turkey, and smoking showed independent associations with having current LBP. Being religious, heavy smoking, and age 26 to 45 years were associated with having restricted activity related to LBP.ConclusionsIn comparison with other developing countries, point prevalence of LBP is higher in Turkey and approximates to prevalence estimates of LBP in developed countries. Smoking may be associated with both occurrence and severity of LBP. Although piety is not associated with having LBP, religious people are more likely to have restricted activity related to LBP.

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