Relationship between self-reported low-back pain severity and other patient-reported outcomes: results from an observational study

A cross-sectional observational study of physicians and patients with chronic low-back pain (CLBP) in the United States. To evaluate the association of patient-reported CLBP severity with other patient-reported outcomes. Appropriate management of patients with CLBP can be enhanced by understanding how patients perceive the severity of their CLBP. Data were from the 2009 Adelphi Disease Specific Programme. Patients reported the severity of their CLBP condition by answering the question Please rate how your chronic lower back pain condition is today with responses of mild, moderate, and severe. Patient-reported severity was evaluated with respect to scores on standard patient self-report measures of pain, pain interference, health status, functional disability, work productivity, and questions addressing satisfaction with medications for treating CLBP. Of 1860 subjects in the CLBP database, 1363 (73.3%) agreed to complete the survey. This sample was similarly distributed between males (49%) and females (51%), with mean age 54.8 years: 52% were employed at least part-time. CLBP severity was rated as mild, moderate and severe by 28.6%, 53.3%, and 18.2% of patients, respectively. With increasing CLBP severity, significant differences were observed in increased pain (P