US national prevalence and correlates of low back and neck pain among adults.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the US prevalence and psychological and health behavior correlates of low back pain and/or neck pain. No current US national prevalence estimates of low back and neck pain exist and few studies have investigated the associations between low back and neck pain, psychological factors, and health behaviors in a representative sample of US community dwellers.


METHODS
We analyzed data obtained from adults ages 18 years or older (n = 29,828) who participated in the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, a cross-sectional, population-based survey of US adults.


RESULTS
The 3-month US prevalence of back and/or neck pain was 31% (low back pain: 34 million, neck pain: 9 million, both back and neck pain: 19 million). Generally, adults with low back and/or neck pain reported more comorbid conditions, exhibited more psychological distress (including serious mental illness), and engaged in more risky health behaviors than adults without either condition.


CONCLUSIONS
Low back and neck pain are critical public health problems. Our study supports the idea of a multidimensional approach to examining low back and neck problems and suggests the need for further research to address potentially modifiable psychological factors and health behaviors in these populations.
Strine
Tara W
TW
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA. tws2@cdc.gov
Hootman
Jennifer M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology