Low back pain was shown to be a major
problem throughout the world, with the highest prevalence
among female individuals and those aged 40–80
years. After adjusting for methodologic variation, the
mean SEM point prevalence was estimated to be
11.9 2.0%, and the 1-month prevalence was estimated
to be 23.2 2.9%.
Conclusion. As the population ages, the global
number of individuals with low back pain is likely to
increase substantially over the coming decades. Investigators
are encouraged to adopt recent recommendations
for a standard definition of low back pain and to consult
a recently developed tool for assessing the risk of bias of
prevalence studies.