Analysis of racial/ethnic differences in pain perception, quality of life, and self-efficacy among chronic neck pain patients

Abstract

IntroductionPerception of pain can be influenced by biological, cognitive, and psychological factors in chronic pain conditions. Racial/ethnic disparity has been reported in the prevalence, severity, and outcome of pain. The study aim was to compare pain intensity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and self-efficacy in chronic neck pain (CNP) subjects of different ethnic groups.MethodsOverall, 64 subjects with CNP were recruited and allocated into 3 groups: Malay (21), Chinese (23), and Indian (20). Baseline data were collected with the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). A comparative research design served to compare pain intensity, HRQoL, and self-efficacy in the CNP subjects of the different ethnic groups.ResultsIn NRS, the Chinese group reported higher pain intensity in categories of least pain intensity and average pain intensity. PSEQ data on current pain intensity and worst pain intensity showed high ratings of both categories in the Malay and Indian groups. The Indian group exhibited more pain relief seeking behaviour than the Malay group (40.52 ± 9.85). In SF-36, the <i>p</i>-value for mental health was 0.19, which suggests low mental health, i.e., higher catastrophization when dealing with chronic pain.ConclusionsSignificant ethnic differences were reported in the parameters of pain perception, HRQoL, and self-efficacy among the Chinese, Malay, and Indian groups. Pain perception and duration play a minor role in perceived HRQoL, whereas pain perception relates more to the outcome of perceived disability.