title: The associations between pain intensity, psychosocial variables, and pain duration/recurrence in a large sample of persons with nonspecific spinal pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aims of this study were: (1) to describe and compare pain intensity, disability, cognitive, physical, behavioral, and environmental variables in 4 predefined categories, on the basis of duration and recurrence of nonspecific spinal pain; and (2) to compare disability, cognitive, physical, behavioral, and environmental variables in these 4 predefined categories, after controlling for pain intensity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Postal questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 5000 persons, aged 20 to 50 years, in Sweden. The response rate was 39%. One thousand and twenty-four participants reporting spinal pain were divided into 4 predefined categories (n=100, 215, 172, and 537) based on duration and recurrence of pain. Multivariate analyses of variance and covariance were performed to investigate differences between the 4 pain duration/recurrence groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The first analyses revealed that the 4 pain duration/recurrence groups differed in pain intensity, disability, 7 cognitive variables, and perceived social support. After controlling for pain intensity, small but significant group differences were identified in depression, catastrophizing, pain expectations, and perceived social support. Higher levels of catastrophizing and pain expectations and lower levels of perceived social support were seen in groups with longer duration of pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After controlling for pain intensity, categories based on pain duration/recurrence differed in 3 cognitive variables and perceived social support. Pain expectations, catastrophizing and perceived social support were related to longer duration of pain. Between-group differences were small and pain duration/recurrence was not an important explanatory factor.
authors: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden. ingrid.demmelmaier@pubcare.uu.se
authors: Ingrid
authors: I
authors: Demmelmaier
authors: Per
authors: P
authors: Lindberg
authors: Pernilla
authors: P
authors: Asenlöf
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Denison
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001416:Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011584:Psychology; D012008:Recurrence; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology