Prevalence of knee pain, lumbar pain and its coexistence in Japanese men and women: The Longitudinal Cohorts of Motor System Organ (LOCOMO) study

The Longitudinal Cohorts of Motor System Organ (LOCOMO) study was initiated in 2008 through a grant from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan to integrate information from several cohorts established for the prevention of musculoskeletal diseases. We integrated the information of 12,019 participants (3,959 men and 8,060 women) in the cohorts comprising nine communities located in Tokyo (two regions: Tokyo-1 and Tokyo-2), Wakayama [two regions: Wakayama-1 (mountainous region) and Wakayama-2 (seaside region)], Hiroshima, Niigata, Mie, Akita, and Gunma prefectures. The baseline examination of the LOCOMO study consisted of an interviewer-administered questionnaire, anthropometric measurements, medical information recording, X-ray radiography, and bone mineral density measurement. The prevalence of knee pain was 32.7 % (men 27.9 %; women 35.1 %) and that of lumbar pain was 37.7 % (men 34.2 %; women 39.4 %). Among the 9,046 individuals who were surveyed on both knee pain and lumbar pain at the baseline examination in each cohort, we noted that the prevalence of both knee pain and lumbar pain was 12.2 % (men 10.9 %; women 12.8 %). Logistic regression analysis showed that higher age, female sex, higher body mass index (BMI), living in a rural area, and the presence of lumbar pain significantly influenced the presence of knee pain. Similarly, higher age, female sex, higher BMI, living in a rural area, and the presence of knee pain significantly influenced the presence of lumbar pain. Thus, by using the data of the LOCOMO study, we clarified the prevalence of knee pain and lumbar pain, their coexistence, and their associated factors.