Back pain and treatment seeking among community-dwelling older adults: Findings from a population-based survey

This study explores the prevalence and factors associated with back pain and treatment seeking of older people. We used data from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI), 2017-18. A sample of 31,464 older adults aged 60 years and above was considered for this study. Chi-square test was used to find the significance level for bivariate associations. Additionally, Heckprobit selection model was employed to fulfill the objectives. Among 34% of the participants suffering from back pain, 46.2% used external application, followed by analgesics (40.8%) and therapy (6.6%). Older adults with higher education had a higher probability of seeking therapy than those with no or primary education [b:0.25; CI:0.03,0.48]. Participants from the highest wealth quintile had higher probability of seeking therapy than those from the lowest [b:0.41; CI:0.23,0.58]. The use of therapy, which is globally recommended first line of management for back pain, was least utilized and must be promoted. (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.