Male and female workers suffering from chronic low back pain display different interrelationships between the biopsychosocial variables.
Charlotte Lanhers, Christian Dualé, Alice Corteval and 3 others
PMID 40905462WHAT IT FOUND
Men and women with chronic low back pain show different biopsychosocial patterns.
Men's pain linked to anxiety and depression. Women's pain linked to physical disability and fear of movement. Work tasks worsened pain for women only.
Key findings
01High pain interference in men was clustered with high anxiety, depression, and low mental quality of life, whereas in women it clustered with low physical quality of life, kinesiophobia, and stress at work.
02Work-related factors such as lack of rest days, back torsion, and exposure to vibrations were significantly associated with pain interference in women, but no such significant relationships were found in men.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The cross-sectional design prevents establishing causality; it is unknown whether psychological distress causes pain or results from it. The sample was drawn from a single company (IKEA France) in the service sector, which may not represent other workplaces or countries. Men in the sample had higher BMI and reported more repetitive gestures than women, which may confound the sex differences observed. Self-reported pain and work perceptions were used without clinical confirmation of diagnoses or objective ergonomic assessments.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that work-related ergonomic adjustments will reduce pain for male patients based on this study. The analysis found no significant association between work tasks and pain interference in men, unlike in women. For men, psychological distress was the stronger correlate.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →