Association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain: A retrospective cohort study using real-world data from Japan
Objectives: Obesity is a well-established risk factor for low back pain (LBP). Emerging evidence suggests that other metabolic abnormalities may also be associated with LBP; however, the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and LBP remains unclear. This study assessed the association of Met...
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Preventive Medicine Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525002013 |
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| author | Shinsuke Okawa Takuya Yamada Mari Irie Kumi Sugimoto Yoshiharu Fukuda |
| author_facet | Shinsuke Okawa Takuya Yamada Mari Irie Kumi Sugimoto Yoshiharu Fukuda |
| author_sort | Shinsuke Okawa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: Obesity is a well-established risk factor for low back pain (LBP). Emerging evidence suggests that other metabolic abnormalities may also be associated with LBP; however, the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and LBP remains unclear. This study assessed the association of MetS with the risk of incident LBP using longitudinal real-world data from Japan. Methods: Health insurance claims and health checkup data from prefectural government employees across all Japanese prefectures except Tokyo (April 1, 2018–March 31, 2023) were linked. Incident LBP was identified from claims, and MetS status from checkups. Participants who underwent a health checkup between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019 with no LBP that year were followed from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2023. Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) to explore the association of MetS with LBP risk. Results: Among 111,095 participants (mean follow-up: 3.3 years, 362,911.7 person-years), 16,894 developed LBP (15.2 %). MetS was associated with a significantly higher LBP risk (HR = 1.24; 95 % CI, 1.19–1.30). In sex-stratified analyses, the HR was 1.23 (95 % CI, 1.17–1.29) for males and 1.34 (95 % CI, 1.17–1.54) for females. Participants with abdominal obesity with additional MetS components had a greater LBP risk than those with abdominal obesity alone. Conclusion: MetS may be a predictor of incident LBP, highlighting the potential value of MetS management in LBP prevention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e7802d8c3f224a11a964a6762edf178d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2211-3355 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-e7802d8c3f224a11a964a6762edf178d2025-08-20T03:13:18ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552025-08-015610316210.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103162Association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain: A retrospective cohort study using real-world data from JapanShinsuke Okawa0Takuya Yamada1Mari Irie2Kumi Sugimoto3Yoshiharu Fukuda4Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, JapanCorresponding author at: Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, Address: 2-11-1, Kaga, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan.; Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, JapanTeikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, JapanTeikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, JapanTeikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, JapanObjectives: Obesity is a well-established risk factor for low back pain (LBP). Emerging evidence suggests that other metabolic abnormalities may also be associated with LBP; however, the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and LBP remains unclear. This study assessed the association of MetS with the risk of incident LBP using longitudinal real-world data from Japan. Methods: Health insurance claims and health checkup data from prefectural government employees across all Japanese prefectures except Tokyo (April 1, 2018–March 31, 2023) were linked. Incident LBP was identified from claims, and MetS status from checkups. Participants who underwent a health checkup between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019 with no LBP that year were followed from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2023. Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) to explore the association of MetS with LBP risk. Results: Among 111,095 participants (mean follow-up: 3.3 years, 362,911.7 person-years), 16,894 developed LBP (15.2 %). MetS was associated with a significantly higher LBP risk (HR = 1.24; 95 % CI, 1.19–1.30). In sex-stratified analyses, the HR was 1.23 (95 % CI, 1.17–1.29) for males and 1.34 (95 % CI, 1.17–1.54) for females. Participants with abdominal obesity with additional MetS components had a greater LBP risk than those with abdominal obesity alone. Conclusion: MetS may be a predictor of incident LBP, highlighting the potential value of MetS management in LBP prevention.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525002013Low back painMetabolic syndromeReal-world dataHealth checkupHealth insurance claims |
| spellingShingle | Shinsuke Okawa Takuya Yamada Mari Irie Kumi Sugimoto Yoshiharu Fukuda Association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain: A retrospective cohort study using real-world data from Japan Preventive Medicine Reports Low back pain Metabolic syndrome Real-world data Health checkup Health insurance claims |
| title | Association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain: A retrospective cohort study using real-world data from Japan |
| title_full | Association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain: A retrospective cohort study using real-world data from Japan |
| title_fullStr | Association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain: A retrospective cohort study using real-world data from Japan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain: A retrospective cohort study using real-world data from Japan |
| title_short | Association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain: A retrospective cohort study using real-world data from Japan |
| title_sort | association between metabolic syndrome and risk of incident low back pain a retrospective cohort study using real world data from japan |
| topic | Low back pain Metabolic syndrome Real-world data Health checkup Health insurance claims |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525002013 |
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