Available online 13 May 2022, 151589

Marginalized or obese populations were predominantly affected by low back pain.

A dietary inflammatory index was highest among marginalized populations.

The dietary inflammatory index was an independent predictor of low back pain.

To investigate the association between pro-inflammatory diets and low back pain in a nationally representative sample of Korean adults.

Low back pain is one of the most common health issues. Evidence suggests a potential association between systemic inflammation and the development of low back pain, and the role of diet in mitigating the inflammation that, in turn, can alleviate low back pain.

This cross-sectional, correlational study used data from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey involving health interviews, examinations, and nutritional surveys. Dietary inflammatory index scores were generated based on 24-hour dietary recalls. Respondents were asked if they had experienced low back pain for at least 30 days in the past three months. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the independent association between pro-inflammatory diets and low back pain.

Of 7346 respondents, most participants were middle-aged, married, and non-/ex-smokers, lived in 2+ person households, consumed alcohol less than once a week, and had no allergies or underlying medical conditions. Respondents in the highest inflammatory diet quintile had nearly 0.25 higher odds of reporting low back pain than those in the lowest quintile (adjusted ORquintile5vs1: 1.25, 95%CI [1.01–1.54]; p = .043).

Nurses can screen for those consuming pro-inflammatory foods, and thus, are vulnerable to back pain, and deliver tailored nutritional education. These results indicate the role of pro-inflammatory diets in the development of low back pain. Future studies should investigate how diet affects low back pain diagnosis and chronicity relative to pain phenotypes.

Low back pain

Diet

Inflammation

Healthy lifestyle

Nutrition surveys

© 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.