ArticleEuropean journal of pain (London, England)2022
The explanatory role of sedentary screen time and obesity in the increase of chronic back pain amongst European adolescents: The HBSC study 2002-2014.
Article in European journal of pain (London, England), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Does sedentary behaviour cause spinal pain in children and adolescents? A systematic review with meta-analysis.British journal of sports medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Dose-response relationship between daily screen time and the risk of low back pain among children and adolescents: a meta-analysis of 57831 participants.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Why sleep matters in chronic pain: evidence across the lifespan.EBioMedicine · 2026Review
- Screen Time and Chronic Pain Health: Mendelian Randomization Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is associated with lower odds of backache in children and adolescents: A multinational analysis over 19 years.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Chronic Back Pain and Associated Factors in Children and Adolescents: Secondary Analysis of the 2001-2019 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- Health behaviors in school-aged children: global trends in education, socioeconomic status, and adolescent health.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Development, implementation and evaluation of a digital treatment for adolescents with chronic pain: a protocol for a multi-phase study.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Outcomes of Mulligan Concept Applications in Obese Individuals with Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Comparison of Estonian Schoolchildren's Physical Activity and Fitness Indicators before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic's Period of Restricted Mobility.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Trends in physical health complaints among adolescents from 2014 - 2019: Considering screen time, social media use, and physical activity.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Back Pain: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The explanatory role of sedentary screen time and obesity in the increase of chronic back pain amongst European adolescents: The HBSC study 2002-2014.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious research has shown that chronic back pain amongst European adolescents is increasing. Determining the factors associated with this increasing trend is crucial for developing prevention strategies. In this study, we used data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey to examine whether increases in screen time and/or obesity between 2002 and 2014 were associated with the increase in the prevalence of chronic back pain amongst European adolescents during the 12-year period.
methodsData from 423,092 adolescents from 27 European countries/regions were drawn from the HBSC questionnaire-based surveys conducted in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. The Karlson-Holm-Breen method was used to examine the explanatory role of increases in screen time and obesity on the increase in the prevalence of chronic back pain whilst controlling for sex and age.
resultsIncreases in both screen time and obesity between 2002 and 2014 were associated with increases in the prevalence of chronic back pain (p < 0.001). The percent of chronic back pain prevalence increase accounted for by screen time and obesity was 3.98% and 1.65%, respectively.
conclusionsThe increase in the prevalence of chronic back pain amongst European adolescents may be explained, in part, by the rising trends in both sedentary screen time and obesity. The fact that screen time and obesity only accounted for a small part of the increase in the prevalence of chronic back pain indicates that other unmeasured factors also play a role. SIGNIFICANCE: More screen time and obesity are slightly associated with more chronic back pain (CBP) prevalence in adolescents across the WHO European Region. The findings may be used to identify ways to prevent or reduce the rising trend of CBP in adolescents.
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