SynthesisBMJ open2023
Clinical and economic burden of low back pain in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 79 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
79 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 123 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for low back pain in China: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of Pilates compared with home-based exercises for people with chronic non-specific low back pain: a trial-based economic evaluation.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Trial
- Effects of a Postural Hammock in People with Chronic Neck Pain and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Trial
- Article
- Organ-on-a-Chip Technology: Advances in Modeling Inflammation, Neurovascularization and Nociception in Human Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.Smart medicine · 2026Review
- Preoperative health-related quality of life across four degenerative lumbar conditions in a multi-ethnic Southeast Asian surgical cohort: a cross-sectional SF-36 analysis.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Chronic lower back pain and its impact on health-related quality of life among undergraduates of Gulu University, Uganda: a cross-sectional study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Spinal mobility and paraspinal muscle degeneration: a cross-sectional analysis from the Berlin Back Study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Comparative Effects of Therapeutic Exercise and Manual Therapy Techniques on Self-Reported Disability in Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Trends in the burden of low back pain attributable to occupational ergonomic factors among the global population aged 15-64 years (1990-2021): a study based on the GBD database.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- Artificial Intelligence in Spine Neuroimaging: Diagnostic and Prognostic Utility of Novel Biomarkers in Lower Back Pain.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Attitudes, Beliefs, and Clinical Decision-Making Regarding Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Pakistani Medical Practitioners, Physiotherapists, and Exercise Professionals.Musculoskeletal care · 2026Article
- EBM BLS: Opioid-Naloxone Combination was not Better than Placebo in Reducing Moderate Severity Acute Low Back or Neck Pain.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- Factors Associated with Chronic Low Back Pain in Hungary Based on the European Health Interview Surveys Conducted in 2009, 2014, and 2019: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Cost-effective unilateral biportal endoscopic microdiscectomy: illustrative case.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2026Article
- Development of the low back health awareness in patient transfer scale for operating room and intensive care unit staff and evaluation of factors associated with low back pain.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Article
- Return to work rates of workers compensation patients with lumbar radiculopathy following epidural steroid injection.Interventional pain medicine · 2026Article
- Returning to Work and Cost-Effectiveness After Lumbar Facet Cryodenervation Among Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Machine learning-based prediction of disability in subacute low back pain: a primary care study on clinical and psychosocial determinants.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026Observational
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesLow back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability and work absenteeism globally, and it poses significant clinical and economic burden to individuals, health systems and the society. This study aimed to synthesise the clinical and economic burden of LBP in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).
methodsA systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was performed. PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, AMED, Embase and Scopus databases were systematically searched for studies that examined the clinical and economic burden of LBP in LMICs, published from inception to 10 December 2021. Only studies with clearly stated methodologies and published in English were eligible for review.
resultsNine studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Of these, three of them were clinical burden studies. The mean Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) score of the included studies was 4, with an average from 3 to 6. The included studies were conducted in Argentina, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Republic of Serbia. The rates of hospitalisation due to LBP ranged between 13.4% and 18.7%. Due to variation of methodological approaches, the reported cost estimates were inconsistent across the studies. A total cost of US$2.2 billion per population and US$1226.25 per patient were reported annually due to LBP.
conclusionThis systematic literature review suggests that LBP is associated with significantly high rates of hospitalisation and costs. As LBP is an important threat to the population, health professionals and policymakers are to put in place appropriate programmes to reduce the clinical and economic burden associated with LBP and improve the health outcomes of individuals with this condition in LMICs. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020196335.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.