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. 2007 Jun;129(3):332-342.
doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2007.01.022. Epub 2007 Mar 9.

Mental disorders among persons with chronic back or neck pain: results from the World Mental Health Surveys

Koen Demyttenaere  1 , Ronny Bruffaerts, Sing Lee, José Posada-Villa, Vivianne Kovess, Matthias C Angermeyer, Daphna Levinson, Giovanni de Girolamo, Hideyuki Nakane, Zeina Mneimneh, Carmen Lara, Ron de Graaf, Kate Margaret Scott, Oye Gureje, Dan J Stein, Josep Maria Haro, Evelyn J Bromet, Ronald C Kessler, Jordi Alonso, Michael Von Korff
Affiliations

Mental disorders among persons with chronic back or neck pain: results from the World Mental Health Surveys

Koen Demyttenaere et al. Pain. 2007 Jun.

Abstract

This paper reports cross-national data concerning back or neck pain comorbidity with mental disorders. We assessed (a) the prevalence of chronic back/neck pain, (b) the prevalence of mental disorders among people with chronic back/neck pain, (c) which mental disorder had strongest associations with chronic back/neck pain, and (d) whether these associations are consistent across countries. Population surveys of community-dwelling adults were carried out in 17 countries in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific (N=85,088). Mental disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, third version (CIDI 3.0): anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder/agoraphobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder), mood disorders (major depression and dysthymia), and alcohol abuse or dependence. Back/neck pain was ascertained by self-report. Between 10% and 42% reported chronic back/neck pain in the previous 12 months. After adjusting for age and sex, mental disorders were more common among persons with back/neck pain than among persons without. The pooled odds ratios were 2.3 [95% CI=2.1-2.5] for mood disorders, 2.2 [95% CI=2.1-2.4] for anxiety disorders, and 1.6 [95% CI=1.4-1.9] for alcohol abuse/dependence in people with versus without chronic back/neck pain. Although prevalence rates of back/neck pain were generally lower than in previous reports, mental disorders were associated with chronic back/neck pain. The strength of association was stronger for mood and anxiety disorders than for alcohol abuse/dependence. The association of mental disorders with back/neck pain showed a consistent pattern across both developed and developing countries.

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