Prevalence of Self-Reported Low Back Pain among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Preliminary Survey

Background: Low Back Pain (LBP) is increasingly becoming a major health concern among patients withtype-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who are often times managed primarily for their diabetic related problems at the expense of other musculoskeletal conditions.Objective: This preliminary survey aimed to determine if prevalence of self-reported LBP (srLBP) anddisability in patients with T2DM was comparable to that of patients without T2DM.Design: Cross-sectional study.Methods: Socio-demographic and clinical data were obtained from 143 patients with T2DM receivingtreatment at Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti, Nigeria. The twelve month and point prevalence of srLBPwas thereafter compared between the 143 individuals with T2DM and 143 age and sex matched apparentlyhealthy controls. Pain intensity, disability and care-seeking practices for LBP were then compared between T2DM patients with srLBP and their age and sex matched non-diabetic patients with srLBP.Results: Twelve months and point prevalence of srLBP was higher among patients with T2DM (46.2%,41.3%) than their age and sex matched non-diabetic counterparts (31.5%, 12.6%). Compared with nondiabetic patients, those with T2DM reported higher disability scores (U =1029.0, p =0.001) despite reporting lower pain intensities (4.15±2.15 vs. 4.75±0.76, p= 0.05).Conclusion: Low back pain should be accorded necessary attention when treating patients with T2DM.Keywords: Low back pain, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Prevalenc