Approved Research

Deciphering the role of emotional distress and functional disability among patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain

Lay summary

Based on the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision, the definition of chronic pain (chronic musculoskeletal pain is one main category) should include significant emotional distress and/or significant functional disability. However, no further details to define the term "significant". This study will assess the prognosis for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain considering their emotional distress and functional disability, which might help us identify the high-risk population in advance. Moreover, it is still unclear whether there is an association (maybe bidirectional) between emotional distress and functional disability among patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain as previous studies were limited by methodological limitations (e.g. cross-sectional design and small sample size). This study will quantify the association between emotional distress and functional disability among patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain, which might provide new insights into understanding chronic musculoskeletal pain. Finally, it is challenging to manage patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain, especially considering their emotional distress and functional disability. Causal mediation analysis is a powerful tool to explore the potential mediation role of lifestyle behaviours (e.g. smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity), pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. The results from causal mediation analysis might help us optimize current therapies and guide the development of new interventions. We plan to finish this project in 36 months.