Does body mass index increase the risk of low back pain in a population exposed to whole body vibration?

The aim of this study was to determine whether body mass index (BMI) influences the risk of low back pain (LBP) in a population exposed to whole body vibration (WBV). For this a self-administered questionnaire was sent to 467 participants, driving occupational vehicles. Vibration measurements were performed according to ISO 2631–1 on a representative sample (n=30) of this population. For each participant, we calculated the current root mean square (r.m.s.) over an 8 h (A(8)) working day. The questionnaire response rate was 47% (n=221). We did not find a significant correlation between BMI and the onset of LBP in the last 7 days (r=0.07, p=0.34) nor for LBP in past 12 months (r=−0.30, p=0.63). No significant increased risk was found for the onset of LBP with the increase of BMI, neither for the last 7 days (OR 1.02; 95% CI: 0.93–1.23) nor for the past 12 months LBP (OR 0.98; 95% CI: 0.89–1.09). Introducing the interaction with WBV exposure in the logistic regression model, did not result a significant increased risk in the onset of LBP—7 days (OR 0.97; 95% CI: 0.92–1.01) nor in the onset of LBP 12 months (OR 0.97; 95% CI: 0.93–1.01) either. Occupational participants exposed to WBV, with a high BMI do not have an increased risk for the development of LBP.