A study from the University of Sydney finds that lower back pain (LBP) is a significant cause of work-related disability. It affected 26 percent of the global population in 2010, and varied considerably with age, gender and region.
Working as part of the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study, researchers aimed to quantify the burden arising from LBP due to occupational exposure and ergonomic risk factors, taking a look at 21 regions of the world and 187 individual countries. The work-related burden was estimated as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).