The Brazilian Back Complaints in the Elders (Brazilian BACE) study: characteristics of Brazilian older adults with a new episode of low back pain.
Fabianna Resende De Jesus-Moraleida, Paulo Henrique Ferreira, Manuela Loureiro Ferreira and 3 others
PMID 28870602WHAT IT FOUND
Older Brazilian adults with new low back pain reported high pain and disability.
Those with lower education and income had worse pain, more disability, and greater fear of falling. Age alone did not predict worse outcomes; the 55–74 group reported more pain than the 75+ group.
Key findings
01Participants with lower education reported more severe back pain, more disability, higher pain catastrophizing, and took longer on the Timed Up and Go test.
02Participants with lower income reported more disability, higher pain catastrophizing, and took longer on the Timed Up and Go test.
03The younger group (55–74 years) reported more constant pain, sleep disruption due to pain, and greater disability than the older group (75+ years).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The cross-sectional design prevents establishing causality between socioeconomic factors and pain outcomes. Recruitment may have missed patients without prompt access to care, potentially biasing the sample toward those with better healthcare engagement. The study excluded individuals with severe visual, motor, hearing, or cognitive impairments, limiting generalizability to more disabled older adults. Self-reported data on comorbidities and pain may be subject to recall or reporting bias.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that older age (75+) is associated with worse pain and disability outcomes in this population. The study found that participants aged 55–74 reported higher levels of pain, disability, and fear of falling than those aged 75 and over.