More than 84 Cr People to Suffer Back Pain Globally by 2050: Report

Back pain will be a key problem for more than 84 crore persons worldwide by 2050, according to a modelling study published in the Lancet Rheumatology journal.

The increased cases of back pain will mostly be due to population rise and an increase in the number of aging persons. The researchers analysed over 30 years of data to show that there would be a rise in back pain cases in Asia and Africa. It is a thing of concern as low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world.

“Our analysis paints a picture of growing low back pain cases globally, putting enormous pressure on our healthcare system,” said study lead author, Professor Manuela Ferreira from the University of Sydney in Australia.

The study found that since 2017, the number of low back pain cases has ticked over to more than half a billion people. In 2020, there were approximately 619 million cases of back pain.

At least one-third of the disability burden associated with back pain was attributable to occupational factors, smoking, and being overweight. This study has confirmed that low back pain is more common among older people. Low back pain cases were also higher among females compared to males, they said.