Abstract
Background and objective Low back pain (LBP) as musculoskeletal disorder remains a common health problem and is one of the most prevalent occupational injuries affecting adults living in both developed and developing countries. To increase the power and improve the estimates of the prevalence of LBP among the working Ethiopian population, a comprehensive meta-analysis was carried out.
Methods A comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted in multiple international electronic bibliographic databases such as Web of Science, Pub Med, EMBASE, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Population-based Studies into the Prevalence of LBP among the working population living in Ethiopia were included. Methodological quality for included studies was appraised using an adapted tool. Meta-analyses, Meta-regression, and sensitivity analysis were conducted. Funnel plot symmetry visualization followed by Begg’s rank correlation and Egger’s regression asymmetry test methods were performed to detect the existence of publication bias. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed by using the Cochrane Q and I2-statistics.
Results In all 719 articles were identified and 13 articles with 6513 participants met the inclusion criteria for meta-analyses after filtering. The pooled point and twelve-month prevalence of LBP among working Ethiopian population was 49% (95% CI 40; 58) and 56% (95% CI 49; 62) respectively.
Conclusion The results showed a high prevalence of LBP among working Ethiopian population, especially among Teachers. We believe that Prevention strategies addressing the early onset of LBP among the working population would most likely be the answer to the burden of LBP on future economies in Ethiopia.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Funding Statement
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
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All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived.
Yes
I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).
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Yes
Data Availability
Data will be made available upon request/reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- LBP
- Low back pain
- GBD
- Global Burden of Disease
- DALYs
- Disability adjusted life years
- YLDs
- Years lived with disability
- HIV/AIDS
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
- CI
- Confidence interval