People with chronic back pain were also three times more likely to experience a depressive episode and 2.6 times more likely to experience psychosis.
Interestingly, the results were relatively similar across all 43 LMICs, regardless of their standing on the socioeconomic ladder.
"Our data shows that both back pain and chronic back pain are associated with an increased likelihood of depression, psychosis, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbances.
This suggests that back pain has important mental health implications which may make recovery from back pain more challenging. The exact reasons for this are yet to be established."
Dr. Stubbs
Because the study used such a large group of people across a section of populations, the findings can be considered highly reliable. As back pain is so prevalent in LMICs (and the world at large), any connection to mental health needs to be thoroughly understood.