Abstract
Objectives
To describe the association and those factors associated with psychological distress and invalidating musculoskeletal pain [IMP] within Spanish adults.
Methods
A case–control study based on data from the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey [N = 29,478] was performed. We identified 1331 subjects with and 1331 subjects without IMP matched by age, gender, and province of residence. Subjects with depression, anxiety, or other mental problems were excluded. The General Health Questionnaire was used to assess psychological distress. Socio-demographic features and health-related variables were also recruited and included in the multivariate logistic regression models.
Results
Forty-two percent [95 percent confidence interval [95 percent CI] 39.8–45.2] of IMP sufferers had psychological distress as compared with 18 percent [95 percent CI 16.0–20.2] of those without pain [P < 0.05]. Subjects with IMP showed 2.35 [95 percent CI 1.79–3.09] times more probability of suffering from psychological distress than subjects without pain. Women with IMP showed 1.38 [95 percent CI 1.03–1.85] times more probability of having psychological distress than men. In addition, IMP was associated with worse self-reported health status [odds ratio [OR] 4.13, 95 percent CI 3.13–5.46] and greater consumption of tranquilizers and analgesics [OR 6.32, 95 percent CI 4.86–8.22]. Psychological distress was also associated with injuries in the preceding 12 months [OR 1.84], jobs demanding great physical effort or walking [OR 1.69], sedentary lifestyle [OR 1.70], and tranquilizers [OR 1.9].
Conclusion
The IMP subjects showed two times more probability of presenting psychological distress compared to those without pain. Women with IMP had more probability of suffering from psychological distress than men. Finally, psychological distress was related to a greater consumption of tranquilizers.