Estimated risk for chronic pain determined using the generic STarT Back 5-item screening tool

Area of Science:

• Pain Management
• Clinical Assessment
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The STarT Back 5-item screening tool (STarT-G) is a widely used instrument for managing chronic pain.
• Validating international versions of screening tools is crucial for global applicability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Japanese version of the STarT-G.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the STarT-G for identifying disability due to chronic pain (DCP) in a Japanese cohort.

Main Methods:

• Online surveys were administered to Japanese participants aged 20-64 years.
• Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha; concurrent validity was evaluated using Spearman's correlation coefficients.
• Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves analyzed the association between STarT-G scores and DCP.

Main Results:

• Data from 52,842 participants were analyzed, with a mean STarT-G score of 1.2 (1.4).
• Cronbach's alpha was 0.71, indicating acceptable reliability. Moderate correlation (r=0.34) was found with the pain numerical rating scale.
• At a threshold of 4, the STarT-G achieved 65.8% sensitivity and 82.4% specificity for DCP, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.808.

Conclusions:

• The Japanese STarT-G exhibits satisfactory internal consistency.
• The tool effectively differentiates individuals with and without disability due to chronic pain.
• The STarT-G is a reliable instrument for identifying patients with DCP in Japan.