ASSOCIATIONS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SEDEN

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ASSOCIATIONS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND SEDEN-
TARY BEHAVIOUR WITH LOW BACK PAIN IN ADOLES-
CENTS Auvinen Juha1, Tammelin Tuija2, Taimela
Simo3, Zitting Paavo1, Karppinen Jaro1
(University of Oulu1, Finnish Institute of
Occupational Health2, University of Helsinki3,
Finland) Low back pain (LBP) is a common health
problem already in adolescence. Both high level
of physical activity and lack of physical
activity have been suggested as a risk factor for
LBP in adolescents, but the current evidence is
conflicting. This study examined the association
of the level of physical activity and amount of
sitting with LBP. The study popula-tion consisted
of 5999 boy and girl members of the North-ern
Finland 1986 birth cohort who responded to mailed
questions at the age of 15-16 years. LBP during
the past six months was classified as No LBP,
Reporting LBP (not seeking medical help), or
Consultation for LBP. Odds ratios and 95
confidence intervals (OR, CI) obtained by
multinomial logistic regression were adjusted for
smoking and BMI. Being physically very active
(more than six hours of brisk physical activity
per week) was associated with increased
prevalence of Consultation for LBP in both
sexes (boys OR 2.1, CI 1.3 3.5, girls, OR 3.9,
CI 2.3 6.7), and with Reporting LBP in girls
(OR 1.5, CI 1.2 2.0), compared to being
moderately active (2-3 hours of brisk physical
activity per week). High amount of sitting
associated with Consul-tation for LBP (OR 2.1
CI 1.3 3.1) and Reporting LBP (OR 1.4 CI 1.1
1.7) in girls, but not in boys. We conclude
that very active participation in physical
activ-ities in both sexes and a high amount of
sitting in girls are related with self-reported
LBP. If future longitudinal studies confirm the
findings of this study, moderately physically
ac-tive life-styles should be facilitated and
strategies should be developed to limit
adolescents sedentary activities such as
excessive television watching and computer use.
Keywords Low Back Pain, Adolescents, Physical
Activity 12thAnnual Congress of the ECSS, 1114
July 2007, Jyväskylä, Finland I