# PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF FACTORS IN BACK PAIN DISABILITY

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 1987 · $166,358

## Abstract

This application requests funding to identify risk factors for chronic back
pain disability.  The proposed study will draw on our existing data base of
physical, psychological, and work-related premorbid data.  This data base
is unequalled in population size and scope of independent variables.
Furthermore, this study will provide the longest follow-up of any such
study to date.  A better understanding of risk factors would provide a
solid foundation for establishing appropriate programs to prevent chronic
back pain disability, to enhance return to work, and to reduce the impact
back pain has on the industrialized nations of the world.  Our goal is to
continue monitoring our subject population of 3,020 individuals so that
risk factors for the development of chronic back pain disability can be
identified.

Our efforts to establish this data base have been supported to date by
NIOSH; however, NIOSH has stated that the evaluation of chronic disability
is beyond their scope of interest and has limited our funding to analysis
for the prediction of acute industrial back injuries.  To stop without
evaluating chronic back pain disability would ignore the 10% of back
injuries that cause the most suffering and account for approximately 80% of
the total cost for back problems.

We have already found that the first 26 subjects who developed disabling
back problems of at least a three-month duration have a significantly
different fitness level than their age-matched controls.  With two more
years of follow-up we estimate another 15 - 21 subjects will develop
chronic back pain disability.  An increased number of subjects in the
chronically disabled category would add to the statistical power for the
evaluation of other variables.  Our results to date indicate that it is
highly probable that analysis of premorbid data can predict chronic back
pain disability and greatly increase our understanding of this expensive
healthcare problem.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3158174
- **Project number:** 5R01AR037507-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **SAM.gov UEI:** HD1WMN6945W6
- **Principal Investigator:** STANLEY J BIGOS
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1987
- **Award amount:** $166,358
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1986-08-01 → 1989-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3158174

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3158174, PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF FACTORS IN BACK PAIN DISABILITY (5R01AR037507-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3158174. Licensed CC0.

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