Quality of life assessed with Short Form 36 – a comparison between two populations with long-term musculoskeletal pain disorders

Abstract

Purpose. To assess quality of life (QoL) in two groups of patients with long-term musculoskeletal pain with and without psychiatric co-morbidity and to compare them with a reference group of normative controls. The patients in both study groups were sick-listed full or part time for 3 months or more.

Method. The patients were recruited from a company health service and consulting psychiatry. A generic QoL questionnaire, the SF-36, was used to assess QoL. Each group was compared with age- and gender-matched normative controls.

Results. Both groups reported a pronounced impairment of QoL (p < 0.001) compared with their age- and gender-matched populations. The greatest impairment was seen among the patients referred for psychiatric assessment (n = 30). The patients in the company health service (n = 42) reported significantly higher QoL with regard to the dimensions mental health (p < 0.028), social functioning (p < 0.034) and role emotional (p < 0.040) compared with the patients referred for psychiatric assessment.

Conclusion. Patients with long-term pain in the company health care and patients with psychiatric co-morbidity, sick-listed full or part-time reported severely impaired QoL with regard both to physical, social and mental dimensions. Psychiatric co-morbidity reported even more pronounced impairment of emotional, social and mental dimensions of QoL which might indicate dysfunctional coping strategies.

Keywords:

• Musculoskeletal pain
• psychiatric co-morbidity
• quality of life

Acknowledgements

We thank medical statistician Aldina Pivodic for her professional advice. The studies were supported by the Faculty of Medicine at Göteborgs University and the Regional Research Council of Västragötalandsregionen Skaraborgs Sjukhus.