ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the risk factors of nonspecific low back pain in community populations.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two community populations were investigated using questionnaires in this case-control study. The questionnaire was designed to collect data including age, gender, body weight, marriage, education, income, occupation, labor intensity, smoking, alcohol drinking and social mental status. The subjects with low back pain constituted the case group and those without low back pain served as the control group, and the data was analyzed by a Logistic regression model.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 1747 community residents participated in this survey, among whom 398 subjects had low back pain and 1126 subjects without low back pain were selected as the control group. Of all the latent risk factors of low back pain in Logistic regression model, gender was the most relevant factor (OR=3.5522) followed by education (OR=1.958), labor intensity (OR=1.956), marital status (OR=1.612), vibration source exposure (OR=1.491), BMI (OR=1.127) and age (OR=1.060).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Gender, education, labor intensity, marriage, vibration source exposure and BMI are risk factors of nonspecific low back pain in community populations, and exercises and mental status can be protective factors against low back pain.</p>