ABSTRACT
Background: Psychological distress/morbidity is amongst the primary reason for the cause of pain at multiple sites, its progression, and recovery. Though still not very clear if physical pain in the neck or the back may predict psychological morbidities or not. Thus, we investigated the association between combined neck or back pain and psychological distress/morbidity. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, including 1,003 individuals. The questionnaire comprised of General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and some questions about neck and back pain. Data analysis was done using statistical software SPSS version 26.0. Results: The results of the multivariate analysis revealed a significant positive association between neck/back pain status and total GHQ score (unstandardized Beta = 2.442, P ≤ 0.0001). Having neck/back pain had almost a 2.5 times greater risk of psychological distress/morbidity. Further, females were more likely to have a higher risk of psychological distress/morbidity (unstandardized Beta = 1.334, P = 0.007) than males while adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Conclusion: The combination of neck and back pain was significantly associated with the Saudi population's psychological problems. Therefore, the Saudi government needs to devise high-risk strategies and allocate adequate resources to the cause so that at-risk people can be shielded from the adverse complications arising from this condition in the long run.
ABSTRACT
Background: Only few studies have investigated the prevalence and risk factors of headaches among the Saudi population. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of headache and to explore its associated risk factors Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. Methods: The multistage sampling technique was used to enroll 1200 population-based participants who were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire about headaches, demographics, and several other parameters such as smoking status and different chronic and psychological illnesses. The chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to test the association. Results: The overall prevalence of headaches in this study was 3%. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that females were more likely to have headaches than males (odds ratio (OR) 0.735, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.612-1.341; P=0.024). Being a current smoker was also significantly associated with higher "odds" of having headache (OR = 1.319, 95% CI = 0.932-2.462; P=0.037). Participants who were overweight had a significantly higher risk of headache (OR = 1.631, 95% CI = 1.48-1.854; P=0.037). Nonmarried people were significantly more likely to have headache pain, compared to married individuals (OR = 0.875, 95% CI = 0.646-2.317; P=0.047). Conclusion: The prevalence of headaches was 3%, and four significant associated factors were identified: females, nonmarried, smoking, and overweight. The temporality of the relationship between these factors and headache cannot be confirmed in this cross-sectional study; so future longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these potential causal relationships.
