THU0493 IMPACT OF AGE, GENDER AND EDUCATION LEVEL ON THE CHOICE OF TREATMENT METHOD FOR BACK PAIN AMONG PEOPLE OVER 50 YEARS OF AGE
Authors: M. Nejman, M. Hiller, J. Napora, A. Wojteczek, M. Ziętkiewicz, Z. Zdrojewski
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

Background: According to data collected by the Statistics Poland in 2014, lower back pain is the second most common complaint reported by people over the age of 60 and occurs in about 40% of them. Another 29% of respondents suffer from pain in other spine sections. Treatment of such a common condition can be a challenge due to the multitude of causes of pain, accompanying diseases and the patient’s approach to his own health. Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate whether factors such as gender, age, level of education and pain severity affect self-chosen methods of treating back pain. Methods: A survey was conducted on students of Pomeranian Universities Of The Third Age. There were collected socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, features of back pain and detailed information on analgesic methods, including drugs, ointments, exercises and physiotherapy treatments (laser, cryotherapy, hydromassage, ultrasound, heat treatments and other). The responses of participants over the age of 50 were included in the analysis. The answers were divided into groups by age (younger - 50–69 years and older - over 70 years), sex, level of education (lower, medium and higher) and intensity of pain assessed on the VAS scale (&lt;6 and ≥6). The collected data were compared in these groups. Results: 546 answers were received. 291 respondents were 50-69 years old, 255 aged 70-90 and more, 86% (471) of participants were women. 43% of respondents had secondary education and the same number had higher education. Over 90% (494) declared that they have suffered from back pain. Most of them described pain as chronic (56%), the median pain intensity assessed on the VAS scale was 6 [1-10], and the mean pain intensity was 5.89 ± 1.79. 82.6% of respondents declared doing physical exercises to relieve back pain, 75.9% were using physiotherapy, 60.7% were taking analgesic drugs and 54.3% were using ointments, gels, patches and other local analgesic methods. The higher pain severity was observed in group of females (5.74 vs. 5.61, p=0.002) and people with lower education level (6.52) than in other groups (5.89 and 5.68, p=0.005). Analgesic drugs were taken more often by younger people (66.9% vs. 53.7%, p=0.003), women (62.5% vs. 49.2%, p=0.042), people of lower education level group (80.6% vs. 62.2% secondary education group vs. 52.5% higher education group, p&lt;0.001) and by people with pain severity ≥6 (81.5% vs. 68.9%, p&lt;0.001). Analgesic gels, ointments, patches and other pharmaceuticals were used more often only in group with higher pain severity (62.9% vs. 43.4%, p&lt;0.001). Performing exercises to relieve pain was more often declared by women (84.4% vs. 70.8%, p=0.003) and people with higher education (85.1% vs. 81.3% secondary education group vs. 79.1% lower education group, p&lt;0.001). The study showed that only in groups with varying intensity of pain there was a significant difference in the frequency of using physiotherapy treatments - 68.9% in group with pain severity &lt;6 vs. 81.5% with pain severity ≥6 (p&lt;0.001). Conclusion: 1. The severity of pain has the greatest impact on the choice of back pain relief method, but this is not the only important factor. 2. People with lower levels of education and men less often perform physical exercises for treatment regardless of the severity of back pain. 3. In the treatment of back pain, attention should be given to recommending the patient an appropriate analgesic method, which will be easily used and more effective. References: Population aged 60+. Demographic structure and health. 2016. Statistics Poland. Disclosure of Interests: : None declared