Abstract
BackgroundAlthough neck pain is common in young adulthood, studies on predictive factors for its onset and persistence are scarce. It is therefore important to identify possible risk factors among young adults so as to prevent the development of neck pain later in life.MethodsA prospective study was carried out in healthy undergraduate students. At baseline, a self-administered questionnaire and standardized physical examination were used to collect data on biopsychosocial factors. At 3, 6, 9, and 12 months thereafter, follow-up data were collected on the incidence of neck pain. Those who reported neck pain on ≥ 2 consecutive follow-ups were categorized as having persistent neck pain. Two regression models were built to analyze risk factors for the onset and persistence of neck pain.ResultsAmong the recruited sample of 684 students, 46% reported the onset of neck pain between baseline and 1-year follow-up, of whom 33% reported persistent neck pain. The onset of neck pain was associated with computer screen position not being level with the eyes and mouse position being self-rated as suitable. Factors that predicted persistence of neck pain were position of the keyboard being too high, use of computer for entertainment < 70% of total computer usage time, and students being in the second year of their studies.ConclusionNeck pain is quite common among undergraduate students. This study found very few proposed risk factors that predicted onset and persistence of neck pain. The future health of undergraduate students deserves consideration. However, there is still much uncertainty about factors leading to neck pain and more research is needed on this topic.
Highlights
Neck pain is common in young adulthood, studies on predictive factors for its onset and persistence are scarce
Five hundred twenty-four (77%) students were followed for 1 year and 160 (23%) students could not be contacted during the follow-up period
Factors that predicted persistence of neck pain were students being in the second year of their studies, use of computer for entertainment < 70% of total computer usage time, and position of the keyboard being too high
Summary
Neck pain is common in young adulthood, studies on predictive factors for its onset and persistence are scarce. It is important to identify possible risk factors among young adults so as to prevent the development of neck pain later in life. Neck pain is common among adults, affecting 14-71% of adults at some point in their lives [1]. A substantial 1937% proportion of neck pain patients will develop chronic neck pain [2,3]. Neck pain causes considerable personal discomfort due to pain, disability, and impaired quality of life, and may affect work. The economic consequences of treating disabling neck pain are significant [4,5,6]. Bernaard et al [7] recently postulated that the total yearly cost of neck and upper limb symptoms in the Netherlands due to decreased productivity, sick
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