Low back pain is one of the most common health problems in the population. About 80% of people will suffer from back pain at some point in their life, usually during adolescence or early adulthood. Low back pain is the leading cause of years lived with disability – a measure of the burden of disease – and has a greater impact than more well-known diseases such as HIV, malaria, diabetes, and breast and lung cancer combined.

Although research has been done to determine whether back pain is associated with an increased death rate, the results have not been consistent.

A new systematic review tried to clarify these results.