Correlation Between Pain, Disability, Psychological Distress, and Quality of Life in Patients With Low Back Pain

Objectives: Low back pain (LBP) accounts for the majority of the global burden of musculoskeletal diseases and has been shown to affect an individual's quality of life.Chronic LBP can affect physical and mental health (MH) and increase the burden of a country's healthcare through direct or indirect costs.This study aimed to examine the correlation between pain, disability, and psychological distress with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in LBP patients.Methods: This study involved 74 patients with LBP.Pain intensity, disability, psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress), and quality of life were measured using the visual analog scale, oswestry disability index, depression anxiety stress scales 42, and short form 36 questionnaires.Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analyses.Results: Pain intensity showed a moderate negative correlation with HRQoL domains, strongest for bodily pain (BP) (r=-0.589,P<0.001) and general health (GH) (r=-0.517,P<0.001).Disability demonstrated the strongest correlations overall, particularly with physical function (r=-0.702,P<0.001) and physical component summary (PCS) (r=-0.688,P<0.001), indicating that functional limitation has the greatest impact on quality of life.Psychological distress was also correlated negatively with HRQoL; anxiety (r=-0.479,P<0.001) and depression (r=-0.421,P<0.001) were most strongly related to vitality (VT) and MH domains.These findings show that pain, disability, and emotional distress collectively contribute to HRQoL reduction among LBP patients.Discussion: Pain, disability, and psychological distress are interrelated determinants of HRQoL in patients with LBP.Integrating pain management, functional rehabilitation, and psychological support is essential to improve overall patient well-being.