Pain, Sleep, and Health-Related Quality of Life after Multidisciplinary Intervention for Chronic Pain

• Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Main Authors: Skúladóttir, Hafdís, Sveinsdottir, Herdis, Holden, Janean E., Gunnarsdóttir, Thóra Jenný, Halldorsdottir, Sigridur, Björnsdottir, Amalia
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2021
• Subjects: Article; Iceland
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8508437/; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910233

Multidisciplinary pain-management programs have the potential to decrease pain intensity, improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and increase sleep quality. In this longitudinal prospective cohort study, the aim was to investigate the long-term effects of multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation interventions in Iceland. More precisely, we (a) explored and described how individuals with chronic pain evaluated their pain severity, sleep, and HRQOL at pre-treatment and at one-year follow-up and (b) examined what predicted the participants’ one-year follow-up HRQOL. Seventy-nine patients aged 20–68 years, most of whom were women (85%), responded. The participants scored their pain lower at one-year follow-up (p < 0.001). According to their response, most of them had disrupted sleep, mainly because of pain. One year after the treatment, more participants slept through the night (p = 0.004), and their HRQOL increased. Higher pre-treatment mental component summary (MCS) scores and having pursued higher education predicted higher MCS scores at one-year follow-up, and higher pre-treatment physical component summary (PCS) scores predicted higher PCS scores at one-year follow-up. Sleep problems, being a woman, and having children younger than 18 years of age predicted lower MCS scores at one-year follow-up. These findings are suggestive that patients should be examined with respect to their mental status, and it could be beneficial if they received some professional support after completing the intervention.