Relationship Between Pain Intensity and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Chronic Neck Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Chronic neck pain (CNP) is a major contributor to disability worldwide and may also occur as part of widespread pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia. However, evidence regarding its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remains limited in low- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh. This study aimed to assess the relationship between pain intensity and HRQoL among patients with CNP. Materials and methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka from April 2021 to January 2022. A total of 96 adult patients (aged 20-60 years) with clinically diagnosed CNP (pain duration ≥3 months) were recruited using consecutive sampling. Pain intensity was measured using the visual analog scale (VAS). HRQoL was assessed using the Bangla version of the SF-36 questionnaire, which covers eight domains, as well as physical and mental health summary scores (PHS and MHS). Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and analyzed using SPSS Statistics version 25 (IBM Corp. Released 2017. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Pearson correlation coefficients were computed to evaluate associations between pain intensity and HRQoL domains. Results The mean age of the participants was 38.37 ± 10.28 years, and 71 (74.0%) were male in this hospital-based sample. The most impaired SF-36 domain was role limitation due to physical health (mean: 36.19 ± 22.02). Pain intensity showed a strong negative correlation with physical functioning (r = -0.713, p < 0.001) and moderate negative correlations with PHS (r = -0.420, p < 0.001), MHS (r = -0.527, p < 0.001), and total SF-36 score (r = -0.550, p < 0.001). No significant correlations were observed with social functioning (r = -0.131, p = 0.205) or mental health (r = -0.165, p = 0.109). Conclusions Higher pain intensity is significantly associated with poorer HRQoL, particularly affecting role limitation due to physical health and other physical and emotionally mediated domains in patients with CNP. Comprehensive rehabilitation strategies targeting pain reduction and functional restoration are urgently needed in Bangladesh.