Health-related quality of life and pain beliefs among people suffering from chronic pain

Abstract

Chronic pain, when not effectively treated and relieved, may have a harmful effect on all aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQL). Furthermore, pain beliefs are considered an important mediating psychological factor in chronic pain. The present study focused on HRQL as measured by the Medical Outcomes Survey-Short Form (SF-36) and addressed possible relationships between pain beliefs as measured by the Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory (PBAPI). The possible impact of background variables such as age, gender, social support, pain intensity, pain duration, and analgesics on HRQL were controlled for in the analyses. The study sample consisted of 81 people who were recruited from a multidisciplinary pain management program. Data were collected as the first part of a routine pretreatment evaluation. The chronic-pain patients reported lower scores on all dimensions of HRQL compared to normal controls and other patient groups. No significant association was found between pain beliefs and the physical health dimension of HRQL whereas gender, pain duration, and pain intensity were significant predictors of that dimension. In addition, one of the dimensions of pain beliefs (i.e., mystery) was found to be predictive of the mental health dimension of HRQL. Social support made an additional contribution to the explained variance in mental health. The implications of these results for assessing HRQL and pain beliefs in chronic pain are discussed.