title: Neck/upper back and low back pain in parents and their adult offspring: Family linkage data from the Norwegian HUNT Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic pain in the neck and low back is highly prevalent. Although heritable components have been identified, knowledge about generational transmission of spinal pain between parents and their adult offspring is sparse.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined the intergenerational association of spinal pain using data from 11,081 parent-offspring trios participating in the population-based HUNT Study in Norway. Logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for offspring spinal pain associated with parental spinal pain.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 3654 (33%) offspring reported spinal pain at participation. Maternal and paternal spinal pain was consistently associated with higher ORs for offspring spinal pain. The results suggest a slightly stronger association for parental multilevel spinal pain (i.e., both neck/upper back pain and low back pain) than for pain localized to the neck/upper back or low back. Multilevel spinal pain in both parents was associated with ORs of 2.6 (95% CI, 2.1-3.3), 2.4 (95% CI, 1.9-3.1) and 3.1 (95% CI, 2.2-4.4) for offspring neck/upper back, low back and multilevel spinal pain, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parental chronic spinal pain was consistently associated with increased occurrence of chronic spinal pain in their adult offspring, and this association was particularly strong for multilevel spinal pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Liaison Committee between the Central Norway Regional Health Authority, Stjørdal, Norway; the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lier
authors.forename: T I L
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Nilsen
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vasseljen
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Mork
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children; D001416:Back Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009664:Norway; D010290:Parents; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires