Table 2.
Demographic and behavioral characteristics of 60 study athletes, comparison between the 24 athletes with LBP and 36 athletes without LBP episodes
| Characteristic | All study athletes (n = 60) |
LBP (n = 24) |
No-LBP (n = 36) |
P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport activity, hours/week, mean ± SD | 7.8 ± 3.3 | 7.4 ± 3.4 | 8.1 ± 3.2 | 0.16b |
| Elite (national/international experience), n (%) | 23 (38.3) | 7 (29.2) | 16 (44.4) | 0.23c |
| Non-elite, n (%) | 37 (61.7) | 17 (70.8) | 20 (55.6) | 0.23c |
| Female, n (%) | 25 (41.7) | 11 (45.8) | 14 (38.9) | 0.59c |
| Male, n (%) | 35 (58.3) | 13 (54.2) | 22 (61.1) | 0.59c |
| Age, years, mean ± SD | 33.9 ± 13.3 | 31.6 ± 12.4 | 35.5 ± 13.8 | 0.26b |
| Age at first LBP episode, years, mean ± SD | 23.1 ± 9.5 | 23.1 ± 9.5 | – | – |
| Number of LBP episodes, mean ± SD | 3.1 ± 3.0 | 3.1 ± 3.0 | – | – |
| Weight, kg, mean ± SD | 72.4 ± 14.7 | 74.1 ± 11.6 | 71.2 ± 16.5 | 0.33b |
| Height, m, mean ± SD | 174.9 ± 8.3 | 176.2 ± 7.6 | 174.1 ± 8.8 | 0. 46b |
| BMI, kg/m2, mean ± SD | 23.5 ± 3.5 | 23.8 ± 3.0 | 23.2 ± 3.9 | 0.29b |
| BMI ≥ 25, kg/m2, n (%) | 15 (25.0) | 6 (25.0) | 9 (25.0) | 1.00c |
| University/College, n (%) | 40 (66.7) | 19 (79.2) | 21 (58.3) | 0.094c |
| Married or separated/divorced, n (%) | 25 (41.7) | 8 (33.3) | 17 (47.2) | 0.28c |
| Current smoker, n (%) | 7 (11.7) | 3 (12.5) | 4 (11.1) | 1.00d |
| Ever (current or past) smoker, n (%) | 17 (28.3) | 7 (29.2) | 10 (27.8) | 0.91c |
| 6 or more cigarettes/day ever smoker, n (%) | 9 (15.0) | 4 (16.7) | 5 (13.9) | 1.00d |
| 11 or more cigarettes/day ever smoker, n (%) | 6 (10.0%) | 2 (8.3) | 4 (11.1) | 1.00d |
| Coffee drinkers, n (%) | 50 (83.3) | 22 (91.7) | 28 (77.8) | 0.29d |
| 3 or more cups of coffee a/day, n (%) | 19 (31.7) | 9 (37.5) | 10 (27.8) | 0.43c |
| Exposure to vibrations ≥2 h/day | 22 (36.7) | 13 (54.2) | 9 (25.0) | 0.022c |
| Physical job demand more than sedentary | 27 (45.0) | 11 (45.8) | 16 (44.4) | 0.92c |
| Physical job demand more than medium | 12 (20.0) | 6 (25.0) | 6 (16.7) | 0.52d |
| Family history of lumbar pathologies | 6 (10.0) | 5 (20.8) | 1 (2.8) | 0.033d |
aItalian espresso cups of coffee
bP comparison of LBP and no-LBP by two-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test
cP comparison of LBP and no-LBP by two-tailed Pearson’s chi squared test
dP comparison of LBP and no-LBP by two-tailed Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate