Global, Regional, and National Change Patterns in the Incidence of Low Back Pain From 1990 to 2019 and Its Predicted Level in the Next Decade.

Objectives

To analyze and describe the spatiotemporal trends of Low back pain (LBP) burdens from 1990 to 2019 and anticipate the following decade's incidence.

Methods

Using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 Study, we described net drifts, local drifts, age effects, and period cohort effects in incidence and forecasted incidence rates and cases by sex from 2020 to 2029 using the Nordpred R package.

Results

LBP remained the leading cause of the musculoskeletal disease burden globally and across all socio-demographic index (SDI) regions. China is the top country. For recent periods, high-SDI countries faced unfavorable or worsening risks. The relative risk of incidence showed improving trends over time and in successively younger birth cohorts amongst low-middle-, middle- and high-middle-SDI countries. Additionally, the age-standardized incidence rates (ASIR) of LBP in both sexes globally showed a decreasing trend, but the incident cases would increase from 223 to 253 million overall in the next decade.

Conclusion

As the population ages, incident cases will rise but ASIR will fall. To minimise LBP, public awareness and disease prevention and control are needed.