Low back pain in adolescents: Is quality of life poorer in those seeking medical attention?


Por: Fontecha C.G., Balagué F., Pellisé F., Rajmil L., Aguirre M., Pasarín M., Cedraschi C., Ferrer M.

Publicada: 1 ene 2011
Resumen:
Study Design. Paired case-control study. Objective. To assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and disability in adolescents with low back pain (LBP) referred to a hospital and compare it with adolescents with and without LBP from the general population. Summary of Background Data. Recent studies show that the effect of LBP on HRQOL of adolescents from the general population is insignificant. Poorer HRQOL is attributed to those soliciting specialized medical attention. No study has evaluated HRQOL in adolescents with LBP who seek specialized attention. Methods. All consecutive adolescents with nonspecific LBP referred to a hospital outpatient clinic (cases-patients) between January 2006 and October 2007 were compared to two control groups: adolescents with LBP and adolescents without LBP from a representative sample of students. Two controls from each group were randomly paired with each case by city of residence, sex, and age. Cases and controls completed the same self-administered questionnaires, including a generic quality-of-life (KIDSCREEN-52) and two LBP-specific (Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire) instruments. A group of teenagers with juvenile idiopathic arthritis completing the same questionnaire was used as external reference. The sample was calculated to detect a difference of more than 4.68 units in KIDSCREEN scores. Comparisons were made using t tests and effect size estimation. Results. Patients (n = 76) had more frequent (P = 0.005) and intense (P < 0.001) LBP than adolescents with LBP in the general population (n = 152) and a poorer score on the Roland-Morris (5.5 vs. 4.3, P =.023) and Hanover (4.5 vs. 3.5, P = 0.032) questionnaires. Nonetheless, in all KIDSCREEN dimensions, patient scores and scores of adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis were similar or better than those of the general adolescent population with or without LBP (n = 152). Conclusion. Adolescents with LBP seeking specialized medical attention have better HRQOL than symptomatic peers from the general population but report worse clinical and functional status. Copyright © 2011 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Filiaciones:
Fontecha C.G.:
 Paediatric Orthopaedic Unit, Hospital Universitari Vall DHebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain

Balagué F.:
 Department of Rheumatology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, HFR-hôpital Cantonal, Fribourg, Switzerland

Pellisé F.:
 Spine Unit, Hospital Universitari Vall DHebron, Barcelona, Spain

Rajmil L.:
 Catalan Agency for Health Information, Evaluation and Quality, CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain

Aguirre M.:
 Paediatric Orthopaedic Unit, Hospital Universitari Vall DHebron, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain

Pasarín M.:
 Public Health Agency of Barcelona, Institute of Biomedical Research (IIB Sant Pau), CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain

Cedraschi C.:
 Divisions of General Medical Rehabilitation and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Hôpitaux Universitaires Genève, Genève, Switzerland

Ferrer M.:
 Health Services Research Group, IMIM-Hospital Del Mar Research Institute, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain
ISSN: 03622436
Editorial
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, 530 WALNUT ST, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106-3621 USA, Estados Unidos America
Tipo de documento: Article
Volumen: 36 Número: 17
Páginas: 1154-1161
WOS Id: 000293004100006
ID de PubMed: 21343861

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