The differential mediating effects of pain and depression on the physical and mental dimension of quality of life in Hong Kong Chinese adults.
OBJECTIVE
The impact of pain and depression on health-related quality of life (QoL) is widely investigated, yet the pain-depression interactions on QoL remain unclear. This study aims to examine the pain-depression-QoL mediation link.


METHODS
Pain severity were assessed in a sample of Chinese professional teachers (n = 385). The subjects were also assessed on depressive symptoms and QoL. Regression models were fitted to evaluate the pain-depression-QoL relationships.


RESULTS
About 44% of the sample had 3-5 painful areas in the past 3 months. Shoulder pain (60%) and headache (53%) were common painful areas. The results of regression analyses showed that pain mediated the effects of depression on the mental aspect of QoL (standardized beta = -0.111; Sobel test: z = -3.124, p < 0.005) whereas depression mediated the effects of pain on the physical aspect of QoL (standardized beta = -0.026; Sobel test: z = -4.045, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study offered tentative evidence that pain and depression impacted differently on the mental and physical aspect of QoL. As these findings were based on a Chinese teacher sample, future studies should employ more representative samples across cultures to verify the present data.
Wong
Wing S
WS
Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. wswong@cityu.edu.hk
Chan
Simon T M
ST
Fung
Vivian B K
VB
Fielding
Richard
R
D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires