Modulatory effect of sedentary behaviour on obesity and chronic low back pain: a cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Objective: To explore whether sedentary behaviour could modulate the association between overweight or obesity and chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study.

Setting And Participants: A total of 4289 participants in the US cohort from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included.

Primary And Secondary Outcome Measures: CLBP was the outcome.

Results: After adjusting for confounding factors, an increased risk of CLBP was identified in people who were overweight (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.76) and obesity (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.18). No significant association between sedentary behaviour time and CLBP was observed. In body mass index (BMI)<25 kg/m vs BMI≥30 kg/m group, sedentary behaviour time showed a modulatory effect on obesity and CLBP (p=0.047). In the sedentary behaviour time >4.5 hours group, the risk of CLBP was increased as BMI elevation, indicating sedentary behaviour time >4.5 hours played a modulatory role in the relationship between obesity and CLBP.

Conclusion: Obesity was significantly associated with an increased risk of CLBP, and sedentary behaviour time modulated the association between obesity and CLBP. The findings might provide a reference for the lifestyle modifications among individuals with obesity and reducing sedentary behaviour is recommended for this population.