Marital satisfaction and distress in chronic low-back pain patients and their spouses

This study examined the relation between marital satisfaction, psychological distress, self-reported pain, disability, and clinical findings in 63 chronic low-back pain (CLBP) patients from primary health care centers. The relation between marital satisfaction and psychological distress in their spouses was also studied. Marital dissatisfaction in female CLBP patients was significantly associated with psychological distress, as well as with patient self-reported pain and disability. Marital dissatisfaction in their male spouses was also strongly related to psychological distress. In male CLBP patient couples, marital dissatisfaction and psychological distress were much less significantly related. This gender difference should be taken into account in the treatment of CLBP couples.