ArticleBMC public health2026
Individual and combined associations of modifiable metabolic health and lifestyle with low back pain, neck pain, and functional limitation: evidence from a nationally cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlthough healthy lifestyles are prioritized for the self-management of chronic low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP), the individual and combined associations of metabolic health and lifestyle with LBP, NP, and related functional limitations remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate these associations and support risk stratification across different metabolic and lifestyle profiles.
methodsThis cross-sectional study used data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2018) to analyze two cohorts: pain cohort (n = 10286) and functional limitation cohort (n = 28513). Metabolic factors included abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Lifestyle factors included smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, and physical activity. Outcomes, including LBP, NP, and back- or neck-related functional limitation (BN-FL), were assessed by self-reported questionnaires. Associations between risk factors and outcomes were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.
resultsIndividuals with poor metabolic-lifestyle status had the highest prevalence of LBP (42.6%), NP (21.4%), and BN-FL (17.6%). Physical inactivity showed the largest estimated population-attributable fraction (PAF) for LBP and NP (20.8% and 20.5%, respectively), while abdominal obesity (15.1%) and smoking (14.0%) showed the largest estimated PAFs for BN-FL. Poor metabolic status was associated with higher odds of LBP (OR = 1.470, 95% CI: 1.227-1.760) and BN-FL (OR = 2.404, 95% CI: 1.977-2.923), while poor lifestyle was associated with higher odds across all outcomes. Worsening lifestyle status was consistently associated with higher odds of LBP across all metabolic strata. The combination of poor metabolic-lifestyle status was associated with the highest odds of LBP (OR = 3.435, 95% CI: 2.026-5.824) and BN-FL (OR = 4.378, 95% CI: 2.347-8.167).
conclusionsBoth metabolic health and lifestyles were associated with LBP and BN-FL, while only lifestyles were linked to NP. Combined unfavorable metabolic and lifestyle profiles were associated with higher odds of LBP and BN-FL, underscoring the importance of both metabolic and lifestyle modification.
Indexed as
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.