Light chain AL amyloidosis: Overview and perspectives

Context and objective. Low back pain is a major public health problem and affects approximately 80% of people at some point in their lives and can cause disability with significant socio-economic repercussions. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with low back pain. Methods. This was a 2-year analytical cross-sectional study of medical records of patients who consulted for low back pain from February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2022, in the Neurology and Rheumatology Departments of the Ignace Deen University Hospital in Conakry (Guinea). Epidemiological and clinical data were collected for each patient. Results. Of 5030 patients, 1141 cases had low back pain, which corresponds to a frequency of 22.7%. Their mean age was 50.3 ± 15.6 years (range 10 to 86 years) with a female predominance in 652 (57.1%) cases and a sex ratio M/F of 0.75. High blood pressure (178 cases) and diabetes (108 cases) were the most common comorbidities. Sedentary lifestyle (688 cases), awkward postures (506 cases), obesity (504 cases) and stress (413 cases) were the factors increasing the risk of developing low back pain in patients. The mechanical type of low back pain was the most common in 884 (77.5%) cases. Only 6 cases of low back pain related to bone metastases were noted. Low functional impact was noted in 938 (82.2%) patients with a mean EIFEL score of 9.3 ± 5. Conclusion. Low back pain is common in rheumatology and neurology consultations at this tertiary hospital. It mainly affects women who are housewives and sedentary. Received: August 13th, 2024 Accepted: February1st, 2025 https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/aamed.v18i2.15