Thrane G1, Lorem G1
1UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Department of Health and Care Sciences, Tromsø, Norway
Background: Chronic pain is strongly associated with negative health outcomes, functioning and work disability, and is commonly reported by Norwegian adults. Self-reported health is an independent predictor of future health outcomes, health service use and mortality even in populations with a small or no known disease burden. Predictors of chronic pain such as behavioral and psychological factors, coping resources, psychological strain, and physical fitness, are also related to self-reported health. Chronic pain might therefore share some of the unknown factors that are captured by self-reported health.
Purpose: We aimed to investigate whether chronic pain predicted future self-reported health trajectories, and whether the widespread pain is a stronger predictor than localized pain.
Methods: The present project utilized data from the 4th , 5th and 6th Tromsø study conducted during 1994-95, 2001-02 and 2007-08 respectively. The Tromsø Study is a large scale population based health study in the Tromsø county in Northern Norway. Participants who completed 4th Tromsø Study were included in the study if they also took part in the 5th Tromsø study, the 6th Tromsø study or both. The participants were classified according to their 1994-95 pain status as having "no chronic pain”, “localized chronic pain” or “widespread chronic pain”. At each time-point the subjects rated their own health as either “poor”, “not so good, “good” or “very good”. We used latent trajectory models to assess how pain the status baseline was related to SRH over time. Covariates were age, gender, body mass index, educational level, mental distress (Hopkins Symptom Checklist) and comorbid diseases (Health Impact Index).
Results: As expected self-rated health decreased consistently with increasing age. However, participants without chronic pain in 1994-95, on average rated their health better than people with chronic pain, at all 3 time-points. In addition, participants with localized chronic pain in 1994-95 rated their health as better than participants with widespread chronic pain at any of the three time points. The association between baseline pain and future self-rated health was evident even after adjustments for covariates.
Conclusion(s): This study showed a strong relationship between chronic pain and self-rated health. Chronic pain predicted self-rated health 6 and 13 years later.
Implications: The results highlights the devastating impact of chronic pain on a person's life and health. Management if chronic pain should be a key concern for the health care services, and physiotherapist have central role in the management of chronic pain.
Keywords: Chronic pain, Self-rated health, Prospective study
Funding acknowledgements: NA
Purpose: We aimed to investigate whether chronic pain predicted future self-reported health trajectories, and whether the widespread pain is a stronger predictor than localized pain.
Methods: The present project utilized data from the 4th , 5th and 6th Tromsø study conducted during 1994-95, 2001-02 and 2007-08 respectively. The Tromsø Study is a large scale population based health study in the Tromsø county in Northern Norway. Participants who completed 4th Tromsø Study were included in the study if they also took part in the 5th Tromsø study, the 6th Tromsø study or both. The participants were classified according to their 1994-95 pain status as having "no chronic pain”, “localized chronic pain” or “widespread chronic pain”. At each time-point the subjects rated their own health as either “poor”, “not so good, “good” or “very good”. We used latent trajectory models to assess how pain the status baseline was related to SRH over time. Covariates were age, gender, body mass index, educational level, mental distress (Hopkins Symptom Checklist) and comorbid diseases (Health Impact Index).
Results: As expected self-rated health decreased consistently with increasing age. However, participants without chronic pain in 1994-95, on average rated their health better than people with chronic pain, at all 3 time-points. In addition, participants with localized chronic pain in 1994-95 rated their health as better than participants with widespread chronic pain at any of the three time points. The association between baseline pain and future self-rated health was evident even after adjustments for covariates.
Conclusion(s): This study showed a strong relationship between chronic pain and self-rated health. Chronic pain predicted self-rated health 6 and 13 years later.
Implications: The results highlights the devastating impact of chronic pain on a person's life and health. Management if chronic pain should be a key concern for the health care services, and physiotherapist have central role in the management of chronic pain.
Keywords: Chronic pain, Self-rated health, Prospective study
Funding acknowledgements: NA
Topic: Pain & pain management
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Ethics committee: REK Nord
Reason not required: The research was conducted on existing data. The Tromsø study as a whole has an ethical approval, and a broad consent for a variety of analyses was given by the participants. As such, the present study did not require a new approval.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
