Are low levels of low back pain intensity and disability associated with reduced well-being in community-based women?

Abstract

Objectives To examine the relationships between well-being and different levels of both low back pain intensity and disability in women living in the community.

Methods A detailed, self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 542 community-dwelling women, aged 24–80 years. Participants provided demographic data and completed the Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire and Psychological General Well-being Index (PGWB).

Results A total of 506 participants (93.4%) returned completed questionnaires. Multivariate analysis revealed associations between lower total PGWB scores and both low (odds ratio (OR) −5.53; 95% confidence interval (CI) −9.01, −2.06) and high pain intensity (OR −8.36; 95% CI −13.8, −2.92) compared with no pain intensity, after adjusting for confounders. Lower total scores on the PGWB were also associated with low (OR −4.72; 95% CI −9.04, −0.41) and high disability (OR −9.26; 95% CI −15.2, −3.30), compared with no disability. There were also statistically significant associations between lower scores on the PGWB subdomains and low and high pain intensities, and low and high disabilities.

Conclusions We found that it is not only women with high pain intensity and disability who experience reduced well-being, but also those with low levels of pain and disability. Longitudinal investigation is needed to investigate the predictive nature of both low and high levels of pain and disability in determining poor well-being in community-based women.

Key words:

• LOW BACK PAIN
• WELL-BEING
• PAIN INTENSITY
• DISABILITY
• WOMEN