@article {Finkelstein51, author = {M M Finkelstein}, title = {Back pain and parenthood.}, volume = {52}, number = {1}, pages = {51--53}, year = {1995}, doi = {10.1136/oem.52.1.51}, publisher = {BMJ Publishing Group Ltd}, abstract = {OBJECTIVE--To test the hypothesis that reports of back pain in a working population are associated with parenthood. METHODS--A questionnaire survey of back pain in municipal fire fighters and police officers in a municipality in Ontario, Canada. The questionnaire was distributed to current employees of fire and police departments. The survey was completed by 129 fire fighters (68\% of the active force) and 346 police officers (74\% of the force). RESULTS--36\% of the respondents complained of a back problem. The prevalence increased from 13\% among men aged 19 to 28 to 47\% among men aged 49 to 59. The complaint was more common among firefighters (42\%) than among police officers (33\%). In a logistic regression analysis, back problems were significantly associated with the duration of employment, cigarette smoking, and the number of children. CONCLUSIONS--Back pain is a multifactorial problem with significant impact on the working population. This survey has found that parenthood, a risk factor not previously described among men, is associated with self reported back pain. The mechanism presumably involves lifting of children or recreational factors. Fatherhood seems to be a confounder that should be controlled for in studies of occupational causes of back pain.}, issn = {1351-0711}, URL = {https://oem.bmj.com/content/52/1/51}, eprint = {https://oem.bmj.com/content/52/1/51.full.pdf}, journal = {Occupational and Environmental Medicine} }