2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

323796
Association of Back Pain and Smoking: An Updated Review of Epidemiological Studies, 2011 – 2014


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 11:06 a.m. - 11:18 a.m.

Kim Khauv, DC, MPH, Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Chiropractic Services, and Sports Medicine, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA
Bart Green, DC, MSEd, Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Chiropractic Services, and Sports Medicine, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Objective: The purpose of this study is to update epidemiological literature pertaining to the relationship between back pain and smoking since an authoritative 2010 meta-analysis by Shiri and colleagues. 

Methods: We performed a PubMed search with the terms “back pain” and “smoking”, between the years 2011 to 2014.  We included meta-analyses, systematic reviews, cohort, case-control, and cross sectional studies. Articles were excluded if they were not one of the included designs, not about smoking and back pain, and studies of children. 

Results: There were 183 studies in the initial search. After applying exclusion criteria, the two authors independently reviewed 38 studies.   There was an association between back pain noted in 27 of the 38 (71%) studies, which included  4/5 systematic reviews, 1/1 observational study, 5/5 cohort studies, 1/3 case control studies, and 16/24 cross sectional studies.  Studies were reported in samples from populations of several countries. 

Conclusion: This study extends the findings of Shiri et al’s 2010 meta-analysis that back pain and smoking are associated and an important global public health musculoskeletal problem.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the amount of literature on the association of back pain and smoking after 2010. Identify there is an exposure/outcome association between smoking and back pain.

Keyword(s): Prevention, Chiropractic

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have met all 3 of the criteria for authorship: 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, and analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the abstract and revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be submitted.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3137.0: Chronic Diseases and Conditions