BACKGROUND: Obesity is commonly investigated as a potential risk factor for LBP, however the current evidence remains unclear. Limitations in previous studies may explain the inconsistent results in the field such as use of a cross-sectional design, limitations in the measures used to assess obesity (e.g. body mass index - BMI) and poor adjustment for confounders (e.g. genetics and physical activity). PURPOSE AND DESIGN: To better understand the effects of obesity on LBP, our aim was to investigate in a prospective cohort whether obesity-related measures increase the risk of chronic LBP outcomes using a longitudinal design. We assessed obesity through measures that consider the magnitude, as well as the distribution of body fat mass. A within-pair twin case-control analysis was used to control for the possible effects of genetic and early shared environmental factors on the obesity-LBP relationship. PATIENT SAMPLE AND OUTCOME MEASURES: Data were obtained from the Murcia Twin Registry in Spain. Participants were 1,098 twins, aged 43 to 71 years, who did not report chronic LBP at baseline. Follow up data on chronic LBP (> 6 months), activity limiting LBP and care seeking for LBP were collected after 2 to 4 years. RISK FACTORS: Body mass index (BMI); percentage of fat mass; waist circumference; waist-hip ratio. METHODS: Sequential analyses were performed using logistic regression controlling for familial confounding: (i) total sample analysis (twins analysed as independent individuals); (ii) within-pair twin case-control analyses (all complete twin pairs discordant for LBP at follow-up); within-pair twin case-control analyses separated for (iii) dizygotic and (iv) monozygotic twins. RESULTS: No increase in the risk of chronic LBP was found for any of the obesity-related measures: body mass index (Male/Female OR 0.99; 95 % CI 0.86 to 1.14), % fat mass (Female OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.66 to 1.14); waist circumference (Female OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.74 to 1.30); and waist-hip ratio (Female OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.81 to 1.36). Similar results were found for activity limiting LBP and care seeking due to LBP. After the adjustment for genetics and early environmental factors shared by twins, the non-significant results remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: After to two to four years, obesity-related measures did not increase the risk of developing chronic LBP or care-seeking for LBP with or without adjustment for familial factors such as genetics in Spanish adult.
}, year = {2016}, journal = {Spine Journal}, edition = {2016/10/19}, isbn = {1878-1632 (Electronic)