CORRELATION OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL COMPONENTS OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, FUNCTION AND PAIN IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC NONSPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN.

A significant positive association was found between overall HRQoL, height, and body weight in relation to physical and mental health, but not with body weight in relation to physical health.

• Study involved 129 consecutive patients (33 men and 96 women) with chronic low back pain
• Statistical significance was determined at p<0.05
• SF-36 Brief Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to measure HRQoL
• Both physical and mental health components of SF-36 were analyzed in relation to anthropometric measures

A negative association was found between age, intensity of movement pain, and functional disability in relation to both physical and mental health components of HRQoL.

• Pain intensity was measured using the visual analog scale (VAS)
• Functional capacity was measured using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire
• The negative association was found for both physical and mental health components of SF-36
• Statistical significance was determined at p<0.05

An improvement in mental health was found compared to an increase in physical health.

• This finding suggests that mental health scores improved relative to physical health scores in the study population
• SF-36 physical and mental component summary scores were compared
• The study included 129 consecutive patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain
• This finding highlights the interrelationship between physical and mental components of HRQoL

Better physical and mental health scores were associated with lower levels of functional disability.

• Functional disability was assessed using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire
• HRQoL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire
• This association was found for both physical and mental health components
• The relationship was observed across patients grouped by better and worse physical and mental health

Health-related quality of life is significantly reduced in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain, and the relationship between physical and mental health with quality of life had not been adequately studied.

• The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between physical and mental components of HRQoL and their association with pain intensity and functional disability
• Patients were stratified into groups with better and worse physical and mental health
• The study used disease-specific measures including VAS, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, and SF-36
• 129 consecutive patients were enrolled, comprising 33 men and 96 women

Improving the physical components of HRQoL affects assessment of the mental component in patients with chronic low back pain.

• This was described as a 'real-life study' finding
• The results demonstrated the importance of addressing physical components of HRQoL
• The physical component of SF-36 was shown to influence the mental component assessment
• This conclusion was drawn from a sample of 129 patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain