Evidence mapPaperPMID 34561729Full record

SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2022

Waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, body fat rate, total body fat mass and risk of low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Qiqi You, Qingqing Jiang, Dandan Li, Tiantian Wang, Shiqi Wang, Shiyi Cao

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Association between pain intensity and body composition in adults with chronic non-specific low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
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  7. Association between weight-adjusted waist index and the incidence of low back pain among middle-aged and older adults: a nationwide prospective cohort study in China.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026
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  20. Causal relationship between leisure sedentary behaviors and low back pain risk: a Mendelian randomization study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Qiqi You *School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.
Qingqing Jiang *School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.
Dandan LiSchool of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.
Tiantian WangSchool of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.
Shiqi WangSchool of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.
Shiyi CaoSchool of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China. caoshiyi@hust.edu.cn.
Huazhong University of Science and Technology · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo identify the associations between waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), body fat rate (BFR), total body fat mass (BFM), and the risk of low back pain (LBP).

methodsWe have searched PubMed through October 2020 for observational studies investigating the associations between WC, WHR, BFR, or total BFM and the risk of LBP. Random-effect models were used to calculate the summary risk estimates and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

resultsA total of fifteen studies with 92,936 participants were included, of which ten were related to WC, five were related to WHR, four were related to BFR, and four were related to total BFM. Pooled results indicated that high WC (odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% CI 1.10-1.54) and WHR (OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.00-1.76) were associated with an increased risk of chronic low back pain (c-LBP). High WC (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.03-1.34) was also associated with an increased risk of non-c-LBP. The risk of non-c-LBP increased by 23% (OR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.01-1.50) for every 10% increase in BFR, and for every 10 kg increase in total BFM, the risk of non-c-LBP increased by 24% (OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.10-1.39).

conclusionObservational epidemiological evidence suggested that individuals with increased WC, WHR, BFR, or total BFM tended to have an increased risk of LBP, regardless of whether their body mass indexes were normal. Excessive fat mass was the essence of the process.

Indexed as

Low Back PainAdipose TissueBody Mass IndexHumansRisk FactorsWaist CircumferenceWaist-Hip RatioBody compositionFat massLow back painObesityWaist circumference

Identifiers

PMID34561729
OpenAlexW3201226224

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.