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Study highlights link between educational attainment, LBP and gender
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Results from this study of Spanish twins indicated women with higher levels of education had a lower risk for low back pain. However, this link disappeared once investigators controlled their findings for genetics and shared environment.
“This suggests that genetics and early shared environment are confounding the relationship between educations attainment and [low back pain] LBP in women,” the researchers wrote.
They performed a cross-sectional and prospective twin case-control study of 1,580 monozygotic and dizygotic twins from the Murcia Twin Registry with data on LBP. For prevalence and longitudinal analyses, the primary outcome was activity-limiting LBP. Investigators performed a total sample analysis to determine the correlation between educational attainment and LBP, and to determine whether educational attainment increased the chance for LBP. A within-pair case-control analysis was also performed using complete twin pairs to control for the influence of genetics and early shared environment. Analyses were stratified for gender.
Results showed women were less likely to experience or develop LBP if they received either general secondary or university education. Investigators noted the risk of LBP in men was not affected by educational attainment. The association between educational status and LBP in women was not statistically significant after controlling for the impact of genetics and early shared environment. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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