Patient-Reported Outcomes Among an Observational Cohort of Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain

Area of Science:

• Pain Medicine
• Clinical Research
• Public Health

Background:

• Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is a complex, disabling condition with significant societal costs.
• Patient social circumstances, beliefs, and behaviors interact dynamically with biomedical factors in cLBP.
• Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are crucial for assessing the lived experience of pain in cLBP.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify phenotypes of chronic low back pain (cLBP) using a prospective, observational cohort study.
• To report key information from patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and demographic variables in the LB3P study.
• To establish reference values for PROs in a community sample of individuals with cLBP.

Main Methods:

• Collected PROs from 1007 participants with cLBP, organized into five domains: Pain Characteristics, Psychosocial Factors, General Health, Lifestyle, and Social Determinants of Health (SDoH).
• Assessed Patient Acceptance of Symptom Status through 10 yes/no questions regarding symptom satisfaction.
• Stratified PRO data by sex and age ( <60 and ≥60 years) to identify demographic differences.

Main Results:

• Participants reported moderate average pain intensity and interference, with mild to moderate PROMIS Physical Function impairment.
• Neuropathic pain was present in 18% of the sample (22.5% in those <60 years).
• High rates of dissatisfaction reported for pain intensity, physical function, sleep, and fatigue; 44% experienced trauma, and 36% faced financial difficulties (51% in <60 group).

Conclusions:

• The LB3P cohort demonstrated moderate pain, interference, and disability, with relatively low reported psychosocial and mental health challenges.
• A significant proportion of participants reported a history of trauma and current financial strain.
• The study provides valuable reference PRO values for community-based cLBP populations.