• S V Björnsdóttir, S H Jónsson, and U A Valdimarsdóttir.
• Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland , Reykjavík , Iceland.
• Scand. J. Rheumatol. 2014 Jan 1; 43 (5): 419-23.

ObjectivesMusculoskeletal chronic pain is a costly public health threat. The aim of our study was to investigate mental health indicators, including self-reported symptoms of depression, sleep disruption, stress, well-being, and quality of life (QoL), among men and women with musculoskeletal chronic pain in a general population.MethodThis was a cross-sectional study; a postal questionnaire was mailed to a stratified random sample of 9807 eligible Icelanders retrieved from a national registry, of whom 5906 responded (response rate = 60.2%). Chronic pain conditions included reports of current chronic back pain, chronic neck symptoms, and/or fibromyalgia. Gender-stratified associations of chronic pain conditions with mental health indicators were estimated with logistic regression analyses adjusting for age, income, body mass index (BMI), smoking, education, and residence.ResultsWe observed higher odds of low satisfaction with life [adjusted odds ratio (OR(adj)) women 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.5-2.6; OR(adj) men 2.3, 95% CI 1.7-3.1], higher levels of perceived stress (OR(adj) women 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.2; OR(adj) men = 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.1), depressive symptoms (OR(adj) women 2.4, 95% CI 1.9-3.0; OR(adj) men 2.8, 95% CI 2.1-3.7), and sleep disruption (OR(adj) women 2.8, 95% CI 2.2-3.5; OR(adj) men 2.2, 95% CI 1.5-3.1), and diminished QoL (OR(adj) women 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.1; OR(adj) men 1.5, 95% CI 1.0-2.1) among individuals with chronic pain compared with those without the condition.ConclusionsOur data indicate that individuals with musculoskeletal chronic pain have increased risk of poor mental health and diminished QoL. Further studies are needed on treatment and preventative measures of a decline in mental health among individuals with chronic pain.

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