Risk Factors for Chronic Low Back Pain in Multiparous Housewives and Its Impact on Quality of Life

Background and objectiveChronic low back pain (CLBP) is a persistent musculoskeletal condition associated with limitations in physical function, daily activities, and well-being.Multiparous housewives may have multiple obstetric, household, lifestyle, and anthropometric characteristics that are relevant to the clinical presentation of CLBP.However, evidence describing these characteristics and their associations with functional disability and quality of life (QOL) in this population remains limited.The objective of this study was to describe selected demographic, obstetric, household, lifestyle, and anthropometric characteristics and examine their associations with functional disability and QOL among multiparous housewives with CLBP.Specifically, the study examined the associations of age, BMI, parity, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) with Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores and the associations of ODI and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores with World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) domain scores. MethodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 100 multiparous housewives aged ≥30 years with low back pain lasting >12 weeks.Participants were recruited from the community in Karad, Maharashtra, India using convenience sampling.Multiparity was defined as ≥2 deliveries.Demographic, obstetric, household, lifestyle, and anthropometric characteristics were collected using a structured questionnaire.Pain intensity, functional disability, and QOL were assessed using the VAS, ODI, and WHOQOL-BREF, respectively.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. ResultsThe study included 100 multiparous housewives with CLBP, with the largest proportion in the 30-39-year age group (47%).Low back pain during pregnancy was reported by 82% of participants, while 65% reported that low back pain continued after delivery.Commonly reported characteristics included household work for more than four to five hours per day (77%), repetitive forward bending (78%), lifting or carrying heavy loads (65%), physical inactivity (75%), and disturbed sleep (65%).The mean VAS score was 2.40 ± 1.50 at rest and 4.04 ± 1.84 during activity, with mild, moderate, and severe pain reported by 80%, 17%, and 3% of participants at rest and 46%, 40%, and 14% during activity, respectively.According to the ODI, 55% of participants had minimal disability, and 40% had moderate disability.The Physical Health domain had the lowest mean WHOQOL-BREF score (61.65 ± 9.73) among the assessed domains.Age (r = 0.1994, p = 0.0457) and WHR (r = 0.3769, p = 0.0001) showed significant positive correlations with ODI scores.ODI scores showed significant negative correlations with all four WHOQOL-BREF domains (p < 0.05). ConclusionsThis cross-sectional study described several obstetric, household, lifestyle, and anthropometric characteristics among multiparous housewives with CLBP.Higher age and WHR were associated with greater functional disability, while greater disability was associated with lower QOL scores across all WHOQOL-BREF domains.Because the study included only participants with CLBP and had no comparison group, these findings represent associations within the study population and should not be interpreted as evidence of causal risk factors for CLBP or causal effects on QOL.