title: Examining the association between pain severity and quality-of-life, work-productivity loss, and healthcare resource use among European adults diagnosed with pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this research was to quantify the association between pain severity and several health outcomes in a large sample of patients diagnosed with some form of pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Responses from patients who had been diagnosed with some form of pain (n = 14,459) were drawn from the 2013 EU National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS; n = 62,000). Respondents reported their subjective pain severity in the past week on a numerical rating scale (0-10) as well as the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36), Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI), and healthcare resource utilization in the past 6 months (healthcare professional (HCP) visits, emergency room (ER) visits, and hospitalizations). Associations between pain severity and health outcomes were examined via a series of regression models controlling for a set of demographic and health-related covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for demographics and comorbidities, pain severity in the past week was shown to be significantly negatively associated with Health Utilities (b = -0.022, p < 0.001) and positively associated with overall WPAI scores (b = 0.18, p < 0.001) and healthcare resource use (Hospitalizations: b = 0.13, p < 0.001; ER Visits: b = 0.14, p < 0.001; HCP Visits: b = 0.08, p < 0.001). The nature of these relationships (linear, curvilinear, etc.) is also explored.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study was a self-report cross-sectional study which may have biased the results and does not allow for causal inferences to be made. Finally, the regression models run were limited to available covariates and, hence, some potentially important covariates may not have been included in these models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that reducing pain severity could result in an increase in patients' quality-of-life and work productivity, and a decrease in healthcare resource use. The equations, linking pain and outcomes, were presented in an accessible format so they could be readily applied in healthcare decision-making.
authors.affiliation: a Kantar Health , Princeton , NJ , USA ;
authors.forename: Edward A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Witt
authors.affiliation: b Mundipharma , Cambridge , UK ;
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kenworthy
authors.affiliation: c Kantar Health , Epsom , UK.
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Isherwood
authors.affiliation: b Mundipharma , Cambridge , UK ;
authors.forename: William C N
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Dunlop
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004526:Efficiency; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Health economics; Health outcomes; Pain; Pain severity: Quality-of-life; Resource use; Work productivity