Journal of Pain Research (Apr 2022)
Characteristics of Persons Seeking Care for Moderate to Severe Pain Due to Chronic Low Back Pain and Osteoarthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
M Gabrielle Pagé,1,2 Yannick Tousignant-Laflamme,3 Marc Dorais,4 Hélène Beaudry,5 Mireille Fernet6 1Research Center, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 2Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 3School of Rehabilitation, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada; 4StatSciences Inc., Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, QC, Canada; 5Quebec Pain Research Network, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada; 6Medical Affairs Division, Pfizer Canada, Montreal, QC, CanadaCorrespondence: M Gabrielle Pagé, Research Center, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, S01-122, St-Antoine Tower, 850 St-Denis, Montreal, QC, H2X 0A9, Canada, Tel +1 514-890-8000, ext. 31601, Email [email protected]: To assess the associations between pain severity or physical (pQoL) and mental (mQoL) health-related quality of life and disability status or health-care utilization among persons living with moderate/severe pain due to chronic low back pain (CLBP) or osteoarthritis (OA), who received treatments in Quebec’s tertiary care pain centers.Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out using the Quebec Pain Registry (Canada) from 2008 to 2014 and contains data on persons referred to tertiary pain management clinics. Participants were selected if they were diagnosed with CLBP (N = 2663) or OA (N = 139) of more than 3 months duration and of pain intensity ≥ 5 on the Numeric Rating Scale (0– 10) and completed baseline questionnaires.Results: Less than 5% of persons were hospitalized in the 6 months before their first visit at the pain clinic, and 11.9% and 18.9% of persons with OA and CLBP, respectively, had a pain-related emergency room (ER) visit. Less than 1/5 and more than 1/4 of persons with OA and CLBP were receiving disability benefits, respectively. Persons with CLBP who had visited the ER, those on disability and those receiving disability benefits, reported higher levels of pain severity, interference, and lower levels of mQoL (and pQoL for those on disability or receiving benefits) compared to those who did not consult the ER, those not on disability or not receiving disability benefits, respectively (all p < 0.05). For OA, disability status was the only variable associated with pain interference and QoL (all p < 0.05).Conclusion: Pain severity, pain interference and mQoL were associated with health-care utilization and disability status in persons with CLBP. These results were globally not found among persons with OA, which might be due to smaller sample size or unique characteristics of this population.Keywords: osteoarthritis, Quebec Pain Registry, healthcare utilization, back pain, quality of life
