Obesity is associated with a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in middle aged women

Abstract

Musculoskeletal pain (MSP) has been recently linked with high plasma leptin levels. Our objective was to study if obese women, who have higher leptin levels, could have a higher frequency of MSP. We studied 6079 Latin-American women, 40-59 years old. Their epidemiological data were recorded and the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), Golberg Anxiety and Depression Scale and Insomnia Scale were applied. MSP was defined as a score >= 2 on MRS11. Women with MSP were slightly older, had fewer years of schooling and were more sedentary. They also complained of more severe menopausal symptoms (29.2% versus. 4.4%, p<0.0001). Furthermore, they had a higher abdominal perimeter (87.2 +/- 12.0 cm versus 84.6 +/- 11.6 cm, p<0.0001) and a higher prevalence of obesity (23.1% versus 15.2%, p<0.0001). Compared to normal weight women, those with low body weight (IMC<18.5) showed a lower risk of MSP (OR 0.71; 95% CI, 0.42-1.17), overweight women had a higher risk (OR 1.64; 95% CI, 1.44-1.87) and obese women the highest risk (OR 2.06; 95% CI, 1.76-2.40). Logistic regression analysis showed that obesity is independently associated to MSP (OR 1.34; 95% CI, 1.16-1.55). We conclude that obesity is one identifiable risk factor for MSP in middle-aged women.