Correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and nonspecific chronic low back pain: A retrospective observational study

CONTEXT: Chronic lower back pain (CLBP) and Vitamin D deficiency are two common conditions presenting to primary care physicians. AIMS: To study the vitamin D status in North Indians presenting with nonspecific CLBP and the correlation between vitamin D levels and pain severity by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: An observational study. Record of all CLBP patients presenting to the outpatient department in 2019, were analyzed, retrospectively. METHODS AND MATERIALS: All the patients of age 18 to 65 and either sex with nonspecific CLBP were included. Patients were divided into two: Vitamin D deficient (Group 1) and normal (Group 2) with cut off Serum Vitamin D values at 30 ng/mL. Demographic data and Visual Analogue Scale scores (VAS) of both groups were recorded. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Correlations between Vitamin D values and VAS scores were investigated using the Spearman coefficient, and the results with P of ≤ 0.05 were contemplated significant. RESULTS: Of total 376 patients with nonspecific CLBP, the majority were adults, females, married, vegetarians, overweight or obese, and had a mean sun exposure time of two hours. Vitamin D deficient Group 1 had 302 (80.32%) patients with significantly lower (P < 0.0001) mean vitamin D levels compared to Group 2 (74 patients i.e., 19.68%). Spearman's rho coefficient between vitamin D and VAS, showed a negative correlation (–0.554), with a P value < 0.00001. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated a high probability of vitamin D deficiency in the nonspecific CLBP population and a negative correlation between vitamin D status and pain severity.