The Influence of Age and Fat Mass on Low Back Pain Complaints Among Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang General Hospital Employees

One of the leading causes of disability in the world is low back pain (LBP). LBP is a serious problem for workers because it causes limitations in activities, thereby reducing worker productivity. Risk factors for back pain are known to increase with age and obesity. Obesity is most often diagnosed based on BMI, but BMI is less accurate because it cannot assess body composition. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) can accurately measure fat mass. This study aims to determine the effect of age and fat mass on complaints of LBP in Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) General Hospital employees. This research used a cross-sectional approach with UMM General Hospital employees comprising a sample size of 112 respondents. The independent variables were age, which was obtained by completing a questionnaire, and fat mass, which was measured using the Tanita BC-418 Body Composition Analyzer. The dependent variable is low back pain, which is calculated using the Nordic Body Map (NBM) questionnaire. The majority of UMM General Hospital employees are aged 26-35 years (43.8%), the majority have healthy category fat mass (86.6%), and the majority experience complaints of low-grade LBP (50.9%). Based on statistical tests, this study concluded that neither age nor fat mass had any influence on LBP complaints among UMM General Hospital employees.