142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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How neuropathic pain affects quality of life in women with arthritis

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 1:30 PM - 1:45 PM

Katie de Luca, B App Sci, M Chiro, PhD (Cand.) , Research Centre for Gender, Health & Ageing, University of Newcastle, South West Rocks, Australia
Lynne Parkinson , Health Collaborative Research Network, Central Queensland University, Australia
Julie Byles , Research Centre for Gender Health and Ageing, University of Newcastle, Australia
Henry Pollard , School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame, Australia
Fiona Blyth , Concord Clinical School, University of Sydney, Australia
Aims: There is emerging evidence for a neuropathic pain (NP) mechanism in arthritis pain. The effect of having arthritis and NP on quality of life has not been investigated. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of NP on quality of life outcomes in women with arthritis.

Methods: 700 women from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Womens Health were sent a postal survey asking about their health, pain and arthritis. 579 (82.7%) women returned surveys. The painDETECT questionnaire and SF-36 were used to assess NP and health related quality of life respectively. This study received ethical approval from the University of Newcastle HREC, approval number: H-2012-0144.

Results: In seven of the eight subscales of the SF36, scores for women who had arthritis with NP were significantly lower than women who had arthritis without NP. Median scores for women with arthritis with NP and women with arthritis and without NP, respectively, were vitality: 45 (95%CI 38-52) and 60 (95%CI 56-64); physical functioning: 40 (95%CI 30-50) and 75 (95%CI 71-79); role physical: 0 (95%CI 0-15) and 75 (95%CI 68-82); bodily pain: 32 (95%CI 24-40) and 62 (95%CI 58-66); mental health: 68 (95%CI 60-76) and 80 (95%CI 77-83); social functioning: 50 (95%CI 39-61) and 87.5 (95%CI 84-91); and general health: 52 (95%CI 44-60) and 72 (95%CI 68-76) (p<0.001).

Conclusions: Women who have arthritis with NP have significantly lower scores in health related quality of life, indicating greater disability and generally lower quality of life.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention

Learning Objectives:
Describe the effect of neuropathic pain on quality of life outcomes in women with arthritis.

Keyword(s): Chronic Disease Management and Care, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a PhD student whose thesis is on the profile of pain in older women with arthritis. I am the primary contributor to this work and my interests include arthritis, pain, ageing and chiropractic.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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