DISABILITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC NON-MALIGNANT MUSCKULOSKELETAL PAIN IN A PUBLIC HOSPITAL IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Aims: (1) To explore the influence of sociodemographic and medical factors on disability and quality of life; (2) to establish the correlation between disability and quality of life, and (3) to determine the predictors for disability and quality of life in chronic musculoskeletal pain patients. Background: Chronic musculoskeletal pain heavily burdens the patient across multiple dimensions. Severe persistent pain due to inadequate management can cause psychological distress and loss of function in patients, resulting in marked decrease in health-related quality of life. Despite so, the disability experienced by patients and its impact on quality of life remains poorly understood due to a lack of literature. Methods: 105 consecutive pain clinic outpatients were recruited for this cross-sectional study. The Pain Disability Questionnaire and EQ-5D-5L were used to measure disability and health-related quality of life respectively. Participants were approached to fill up their sociodemographic and medical information and questionnaires. Informed signed consent was obtained. Independent-Samples T-test and Pearson Correlation Coefficient tests were run to determine significantly associated factors. Regression analysis was fitted via general linear model to determine the predictors. Results: Multiple factors were shown to have prominent influence on disability and quality of life. Both study outcomes were strongly and negatively related to each other and were significant predictors for each other. Conclusion: Disability and quality of life share a strong inverse relationship with usual pain score as a significant predictor of the latter. Thus, adequate management of pain is required for better health outcomes. Implications: Identification of associated factors and predictors allow clinicians to implement appropriate strategies to improve patients’ health outcomes. If successful, these strategies may be adopted at an institutional or national level, benefiting an even larger group of patients, reducing the chronic musculoskeletal pain burden on the society.