ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2020
The longitudinal relationships between pain severity and disability versus health-related quality of life and costs among chronic low back pain patients.
Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of Pain Catastrophizing and Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on patient-reported outcomes in chronic low back pain: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Mobile technologies for rehabilitation in non-specific spinal disorders: a systematic review of the efficacy and potential for implementation in low- and middle-income countries.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of exercise therapy on disability, mobility, and quality of life in the elderly with chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2023Pooled it
- Myofascial Release for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Impact of the Osijek Multidisciplinary Biopsychosocial Program on Chronic Low Back Pain: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Trial
- Associations between trunk mobility, pain, and quality of life in individuals with chronic low back pain treated with different therapeutic protocols: Potential clinical parameters.Journal of back and musculoskeletal rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Prevention of Pain Interference in Insomnia Patients via Digital Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia.Behavioral sleep medicineTrial
- (Cost-)effectiveness of a combined lifestyle intervention integrated into standard care for low back pain compared to usual care for people with persistent non-specific low back pain who are overweight or obese: Protocol for a randomised controlled trial with parallel economic and process evaluations (Back2Health).Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2026Article
- Dynamic versus rigid lumbar fixation: A multimodal comparison of paraspinal muscle morphology, electromyography, and functional outcomes.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Chronic lower back pain and its impact on health-related quality of life among undergraduates of Gulu University, Uganda: a cross-sectional study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- A meta-model of low back pain to examine collective expert knowledge of treatment effects and their mechanisms.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Prognostic Factors of High Healthcare Utilization Costs Among People With Spinal Disorders Using a Spine Registry Linked to Public Healthcare Data.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Article
- The association of lumbar paraspinal muscle size and quality with physical function, disability, and pain in adults with chronic low back pain.JOSPT open · 2026Article
- The association between health-related quality of life and the meaning of life in community-dwelling older adults.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Machine learning-based prediction of disability in subacute low back pain: a primary care study on clinical and psychosocial determinants.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026Observational
- Proposal and Initial Validation of a Brief Questionnaire for Epidemiological Assessment of Low Back Pain.Pain research & management · 2026Article
- Health-related quality of life among patients with low back pain attending rehabilitation facilities in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Functional disability mediates the relationship between pain severity and quality of life in pregnant women with pregnancy-related low back pain: a moderated mediation analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- A meta-model of low back pain to examine collective expert knowledge of the effects of treatments and their mechanisms.Research square · 2025Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposePrevious studies found higher levels of pain severity and disability to be associated with higher costs and lower health-related quality of life. However, these findings were based on cross-sectional data and little is known about the longitudinal relationships between pain severity and disability versus health-related quality of life and costs among chronic low back pain patients. This study aims to cover this knowledge gap by exploring these longitudinal relationships in a consecutive cohort.
methodsData of 6316 chronic low back pain patients were used. Measurements took place at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Pain severity (Numeric pain rating scale; range: 0-100), disability (Oswestry disability index; range: 0-100), health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-3L: range: 0-1), societal and healthcare costs (cost questionnaire) were measured. Using linear generalized estimating equation analyses, longitudinal relationships were explored between: (1) pain severity and health-related quality of life, (2) disability and health-related quality of life, (3) pain severity and societal costs, (4) disability and societal costs, (5) pain severity and healthcare costs, and (6) disability and healthcare costs.
resultsHigher pain and disability levels were statistically significantly related with poorer health-related quality of life (pain intensity: - 0.0041; 95% CI - 0.0043 to - 0.0039; disability: - 0.0096; 95% CI - 0.0099 to - 0.0093), higher societal costs (pain intensity: 7; 95% CI 5 to 8; disability: 23; 95% CI 20 to 27) and higher healthcare costs (pain intensity: 3; 95% CI 2 to 4; disability: 9; 95% CI 7 to 11).
conclusionPain and disability were longitudinally related to health-related quality of life, societal costs, and healthcare costs. Disability had a stronger association with all outcomes compared to pain.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.