Bidirectional Comorbid Associations between Back Pain and Major Depression in US Adults

Haiou Yang (), Eric L. Hurwitz, Jian Li, Katie de Luca, Patricia Tavares, Bart Green and Scott Haldeman
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Haiou Yang: Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of California, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
Eric L. Hurwitz: Office of Public Health Studies, Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, University of Hawaii, Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Jian Li: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Katie de Luca: Discipline of Chiropractic, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Patricia Tavares: Department of Clinical Education, Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Toronto, ON M2H 3J1, Canada
Bart Green: Employer Based Integrated Primary Care Health Centers, Stanford Health Care, National University of Health Sciences, San Diego, CA 92121, USA
Scott Haldeman: Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92868, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: Low back pain and depression have been globally recognized as key public health problems and they are considered co-morbid conditions. This study explores both cross-sectional and longitudinal comorbid associations between back pain and major depression in the adult population in the United States. We used data from the Midlife in the United States survey (MIDUS), linking MIDUS II and III with a sample size of 2358. Logistic regression and Poisson regression models were used. The cross-sectional analysis showed significant associations between back pain and major depression. The longitudinal analysis indicated that back pain at baseline was prospectively associated with major depression at follow-up (PR 1.96, CI: 1.41, 2.74), controlling for health behavioral and demographic variables. Major depression at baseline was also prospectively associated with back pain at follow-up (PR 1.48, CI: 1.04, 2.13), controlling for a set of related confounders. These findings of a bidirectional comorbid association fill a gap in the current understanding of these comorbid conditions and could have clinical implications for the management and prevention of both depression and low back pain.

Keywords: low back pain; depression; comorbidity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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