Do psychosocial factors predict disability and health at a 3-year follow-up for patients with non-acute musculoskeletal pain? A validation of the Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire

Purpose: Early identification and intervention with those that run the risk of developing long‐term disability would offer a great opportunity for reducing costs and personal suffering associated with long‐term work absenteeism. The Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (ÖMPSQ) has been used and validated in several studies for participants with mainly acute pain problems. The aim of this study was to validate the ÖMPSQ for patients with non‐acute pain problems (e.g. 1–6 months sick leave) and compare to other relevant questionnaires. Method: One hundred and fifty‐eight patients with musculoskeletal pain and disability recruited to a multidisciplinary rehabilitation project completed a battery of questionnaires at baseline and at 3‐year follow‐up visits. The main analysis involved the relationship between risk levels in the questionnaire and sick leave and perceived health after 3 years. Results: The ÖMSPQ predicted future sick leave and health and was found to have six factors. The function and pain factors were the best predictors of sick leave after 3 years, while the distress factor was the best predictor of perceived mental health and return to work‐expectancy was borderline significant. Perceived physical health at 3 years was best predicted by the function and pain factors with the fear‐avoidance factor being marginally significant. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that psychosocial factors as measured by ÖMPSQ are related to work disability and perceived health even 3 years after treatment for patients with non‐acute pain problems. The ÖMSPQ was a good predictor of outcome.