TY - JOUR T1 - Association between type 2 diabetes and chronic low back pain in general practices in Germany JF - BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care JO - BMJ Open Diab Res Care DO - 10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002426 VL - 9 IS - 1 SP - e002426 AU - Louis Jacob AU - Wolfgang Rathmann AU - Ai Koyanagi AU - Josep Maria Haro AU - Karel Kostev Y1 - 2021/07/01 UR - http://drc.bmj.com/content/9/1/e002426.abstract N2 - Introduction There are conflicting results on the association between type 2 diabetes and chronic low back pain (CLBP). Therefore, the goal was to investigate the relationship between type 2 diabetes and CLBP in individuals followed in general practices in Germany.Research design and methods Adults diagnosed for the first time with type 2 diabetes in 809 general practices in Germany between 2005 and 2018 (index date) were included. Adults without type 2 diabetes were matched (1:1) to those with type 2 diabetes by sex, age, index year, and the annual number of medical consultations (index date: a randomly selected visit date). The association between type 2 diabetes and the 10-year incidence of CLBP was analyzed in conditional Cox regression models adjusted for a wide range of comorbidities, including hypertension, lipid metabolism disorders, and obesity.Results There were 139 002 individuals included in this study (women: 58.0%; mean (SD) age 62.5 (13.4) years). There was a positive association between type 2 diabetes and the incidence of CLBP in the overall sample (HR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.35). Sex-stratified analyses showed a higher risk of CLBP in women (HR=1.68, 95% CI: 1.43 to 1.90) and a lower risk in men with than in their counterparts without type 2 diabetes (HR=0.83, 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.97).Conclusions Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes was associated with an increased risk of CLBP. There were important sex differences in the type 2 diabetes-CLBP relationship, and more research is warranted to investigate the underlying factors explaining these differences.Data are available upon reasonable request. ER -