BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

Back pain is one of the most common pain in humans. It impacts the health and quality of life and can be disabling. Diseases detected in adolescence and poorly managed may get worse in adulthood. The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence, the associated factors and the characteristics of back pain in adolescents living in the city of São Paulo.

METHODS:

A cross-sectional population-based study - Health Survey in São Paulo (2015) with 539 adolescents of both genders between 15 and 19 years old was used. The information was collected through home interviews and the participants were selected by probabilistic sampling. Frequencies, Chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were used in this analysis. The level of significance was 5%.

RESULTS:

The estimated prevalence of back pain in adolescents in the city of São Paulo was 22.4%. Back pain in adolescents had the following associated factors: dizziness (OR 3.1), common mental disorder (OR 2.4), insomnia (OR 2.6) and perform household chores (OR 1.8). To relieve the pain, 46.6% of adolescents do nothing, 17.3% use self-medication and 8.9% use prescribed medication.

CONCLUSION:

Acknowledging back pain as a public health problem requires strategies that allow us to learn the origins, associated factors and coping strategies that may influence new ways of prioritizing and organizing healthcare.

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