Low back pain and its correlations with poor sleep quality among health care providers

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the relationship between low back pain (LBP) and sleep quality among health care workers in KSA. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous questionnaire consisting of three sections was administered to health care providers in KSA. The first part included the biographic data of participants, while the second comprised the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and the extended version of the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ-E) for LBP. The third part contained the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). RESULTS: A total of 442 healthcare providers completed the questionnaire. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents were male (62.7%). Most were living in either the central region (23.3%) or the northern region (23.3%). There was a statistically significant correlation between the global PSQI and ODI score (r = 0.235; p < 0.001). The correlation between ODI score and PSQI components including subjective sleep quality (r = 0.229; p = 0.007), habitual sleep efficiency (r = 0.229; p < 0.01), and the daytime dysfunction was also statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Health care providers in KSA with high rating for LBP disability demonstrated poorer overall sleep quality and vice versa. However, further research is essential to investigate whether this relationship is causal.