Relationships of clinical, psychologic, and individual factors with the functional status of neck pain patients.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to use both generic and disease-specific functional measures examining relationships of clinical, psychologic, and individual factors with the functional status of neck pain patients.

METHODS

Patients who visited a university-based spine clinic and reported neck pain were included in this study. A comprehensive computerized survey questionnaire was used to collect the information related to this study. The questionnaire also contained a generic measure, short form 12-item survey (SF-12), and a disease-specific measure, neck disability index (NDI). Correlation and multiple regression analysis were conducted to examine the relationships.

RESULTS

A range of clinical, psychologic, and individual factors emerged to be significant predictors of the NDI or physical component of the SF-12 (PCS). The predictors of higher NDI included higher levels of neck pain, higher levels of back pain, higher levels of pain in arm or shoulder areas, not working, lower education, higher stress, the presence of depression or anxiety, and smoking. The predictors of lower PCS included not working, higher levels of back pain, higher levels of neck pain, lower education, female sex, the presence of cardiovascular disorders, the absence of cervical disk disorders, and older age.

CONCLUSIONS

The predictors of the NDI or PCS appear to be multidimensional. Interventions designed to maximally improve the functional status of neck pain patients should be multifaceted and involve multidisciplinary teams. Selection of the most appropriate functional measures for an intervention study should consider differences between the generic and disease-specific measures in terms of their respective relationships with targeted factors. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the relationships observed in this study.