Association between vitamin D level and severity of backache in a sample of patients in Kirkuk city, Iraq

Abstract

Background  and  objectives:  Vitamin  D  deficiency  and  LBP  are  well documented in Kirkuk city; henceforth it would be appropriate to evaluate the association between vitamin D deficiency and severity of low back pain. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive hospital based study was done in Kirkuk general hospital, located in Kirkuk city, Iraq; during a one year period starting from the 1st of June 2018 and ending on the 31st of June 2019.   Total of (100) patients having low back pain (LBP) were included by non-probability consecutive sampling. Demographic information included in the questionnaire [age, gender, body mass index (BMI), education level, marital status, and occupation]. Patients were divided into two groups as Vitamin D deficient (Group 1) with a Vitamin D level below 20 ng/mL and normal (Group 2) with a value above 20 ng/ml.
Results: Hundred patients with backache participated in the study. Their mean age + SD was 45.01 + 14.76 years. The deficiency of vitamin D was detected in (83%) of the patients, while Vitamin D was found in (17%) as normal. No significant association was detected between vitamin D deficiency with gender (p = 0.110), BMI (p = 0.672), educational level (p = 0.598), and marital status (p = 0.357); however, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of VAS score and levels of Vitamin (D), since the highest mean of vit.D (27.96) was among patients with mild backache which was significantly higher than the mean among those with severe backache (14.27) or very severe backache (13.68).
Conclusion: Our study revealed a connection between Vitamin D deficiency and the severity of the pain in patients with LBP. Vitamin D levels screening in individuals with LBP should be taken into consideration because of the cheap, safe, treatable form of the symptoms for clinicians.