Kana Horibe, Tsunenori Isa, Naoka Matsuda, Shunsuke Murata, Yamato Tsuboi, Maho Okumura, Rika Kawaharada, Masahumi Kogaki, Kazuaki Uchida, Kiyomasa Nakatsuka, Rei Ono


October 2021, Volume 30, Issue 10, pp 2983 - 2988 Original Article Read Full Article 10.1007/s00586-021-06847-8

First Online: 11 May 2021

Purpose

Persistent low back and pelvic pain (LBPP) is a postpartum-specific health problem. Sleep disturbances’ association with persistent LBPP is not yet clear. We aimed to examine the cross-sectional association between sleep disturbance and persistent LBPP at 4 months postpartum.

Methods

We enrolled 120 women with LBPP during pregnancy (mean age, 31.8; standard deviation, 4.9 years). The primary outcome was persistent LBPP. We assessed LBPP severity at 4 months postpartum using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), where women with an NRS score of ≥ 4 at 4 months postpartum were allocated to the persistent LBPP group. We assessed sleep disturbance at 4 months postpartum using the Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index with a total score of ≥ 6 indicating sleep disturbance. Moreover, we performed univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses to examine the cross-sectional association of sleep disturbance with persistent LBPP. The relevant confounding variables were age, body mass index, parity, and history of LBPP before pregnancy.

Results

Among the 120 women, 45 women had persistent LBPP (37.5%) with 32 (71.1%) of them reporting sleep disturbance. There was a significant association of sleep disturbance with persistent LBPP (odds ratio [OR], 2.81; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.28–6.19), which remained after adjustments for confounding variables (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.31–6.75).

Conclusion

Our findings indicate that sleep disturbance is associated with persistent LBPP at 4 months postpartum; therefore, it should be taken into consideration in postpartum women with persistent LBPP.


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