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Table 1 Overview of the included studies for quality assessment

From: The natural course of low back pain from childhood to young adulthood – a systematic review

Author and year

Study design and setting

Age of cohort at baseline

Purpose of study

Number of follow-ups

Time between follow-ups

Sample size

Methods for data collection

Outcome measures of LBP

Identified terminology for patterns of LBP

Aartun, 2014

School-based prospective cohort study

11–13 years

Course of LBP

1

2 years

Baseline: 1291

Follow-up: 1064 (82%)

Electronic questionnaire

1) Point prevalence

2) 1-week prevalence

3) Lifetime prevalence

1) Never LBP

2) Development of LBP

3) Changes in frequency of LBP

Burton, 1996

School-based prospective cohort study

11 years

Natural history of LBP

4

1 year

Baseline: 216

Follow-up (T5): 147 (68%)

Questionnaire; interviews first 2 years, then self-administered

1) Lifetime prevalence

1) Single, discrete spell of LBP

2) Recurrent LBP

Coenen, 2017

Follow-up in a birth cohort

17 years

Trajectories of LBP

2

3 and 2 years

Baseline: 1050

Follow-up (T2): 1033 (98%) (not same responders T1–3)

Self-administered questionnaire

1) 1 month prevalence

1) Consistenly low probability of LBP

2) Increase in prevalence of LBP

3) Decrease in the prevalence of LBP

4) Consistently high prevalence of LBP

Grimmer, 2006

School-based prospective cohort study

13 years

Tracking of LBP

4

Yearly samples

Baseline: 434

Follow-up (T5): 174 (40%)

Self-administered questionnaire

1) 1-week prevalence

1) Recent LBP

2) Variability of LBP

1) Repeated reporting

2) Regular LBP

3) Consistency of occurrence of LBP

Kjaer, 2011

School-based prospective cohort study

9 years

Tracking of LBP

3

4 years

Baseline: 479

Follow-up: 443 (92%) (not same responders T1–4)

Questionnaire by interviews

1) Point prevalence

2) 1-week prevalence

3) 1 month prevalence

1) No LBP

2) Still LBP

3) Changes in reports of LBP

Mikkelsson, 1997

School-based prospective cohort study

9 years

Persistence of LBP

1

1 year

Baseline: 1756

Follow-up:1628 (92%)

Self-administered questionnaire

1) 3 months prevalence

1) Seldom or never LBP

2) Persistence of LBP

Sjolie, 2004

School-based prospective cohort study

14 years

Persistence and change in LBP

1

3 years

Baseline: 88Follow-up:

85 (97%)

Self-administered questionnaire

1) 1-year prevalence

1) No LBP

2) Still LBP

3) Persistent, but changeable LBP

Szpalski, 2002

School-based prospective cohort study

9 years

Prediction of LBP

1

2 years

Baseline: 287

Follow-up: 287 (100%)

Self-administered questionnaire

1) Lifetime prevalence

1) No LBP

2) Identical LBP

3) Ongoing LBP