Back Pain Statistics (Top Picks) 7.5% of the world's population suffers from low back pain. Women, people over 30, and people who are classified as obese are at increased risk of developing low back pain. Some 16 million adults, 8 percent of all adults, experience persistent or chronic back pain and, as a result, are limited in certain daily activities. Nearly three-quarters of 72 percent of people with back pain report that such feelings have interfered with their lives, compared to 61 percent of those without back pain.
Among working adults, nearly two-thirds 64 percent of people with back pain, compared to less than half 45 percent of people without back pain, have missed at least one day of work in the past year due to illness or injury. About 83 percent of adults with any back pain, compared to 66 percent of adults without back pain, have seen a doctor at least once in the past year. About 60 percent of adults with back pain are working, compared to 74 percent of adults without back pain. About 41 percent of adults with back pain are between 18 and 44 years old, compared to 54 percent of all adults.
For example, the proportion of adults with back pain who report fair to poor physical health (25 percent) is more than double that of those without back pain (11 percent) (see Figure.
