Prevalence of self-reported spinal pain in Brazil: Results of the national health research

Abstract

Objective: To identify the prevalence and distribution of cases of self-reported spinal disorders by persons who are 18 years or older living in Brazil according to sociodemographic variables. Methods: We used the Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde (PNS, national health research), developed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in partnership with the Ministry of Health. The data obtained from the website of IBGE System of Automatic Recovery-SIDRA were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics software version 20.0, IBM. Results: In Brazil 19% of the adult population report chronic spinal pain, 15.26% (± 4.56) men and 20.08% (+/-4.11) women. After the age of 60, the prevalence is higher. Regarding skin color 18.26% (± 3.53) are white, 17.27% (± 6.65) are black and 17.93% (± 4.05) are brown, with no statistical difference. As for education, 23.55% (±5.70) had low or absent schooling (p < 0.001). The southern region of Brazil has the highest percentage (23.3%) of adults with chronic problems in the spine, and the state with the highest percentage is Paraná, with 26%. Conclusions: The results showed that there is a relationship between spinal pain and sociodemographic characteristics, pointing to the southern region as the most affected by spinal disorders when compared to other regions of the country.