LOW BACK PAIN IN ENDEMIC DISEASE CONTROL AGENTS: INFLUENCE OF GENDER, AGE AND LENGTH OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate low back pain among Endemic Disease Control Agents (ACE) and the influence of gender, age and time of work. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, census study. Data collection was carried out using a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ). The comparison between the categories used the Mann-Whitney U test, assuming a significance level of 5%.  Results: Data from 304 ECAs were evaluated. The prevalence of low back pain for the group was 50.0%. In relation to gender, there was a significant difference only for the mental health domain, with worse scores for women. Regarding age, significant differences were recorded for the domains of social life and mental health, both registering worse scores for people under 40 years of age. Regarding the length of experience, significant differences were observed for the domains of low back pain, social life and mental health, with worse scores for those with less than two years of experience. Conclusion: Low back pain represents an important complaint for ACE, with worse impacts among women, professionals under 40 years of age and with up to two years of experience.