The interrelationship between pain, life satisfaction and mental health in adults with traumatic spinal cord injury, in the context of a developing country

Study design: Cross-sectional, analytical study using convenience sampling. Objectives: To examine the interrelationship between pain, life satisfaction and indices of negative mental well-being (depression, anxiety) among adults with traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI). Setting: Western Cape Rehabilitation Center, Cape Town, South Africa. Methods: Adults with TSCI (n=70; mean age ≈36 years) completed 10 satisfaction items from the WHOQOL-BREF, CESD-10, STAI-T5, a one-item pain intensity measure from the International Spinal Cord Injury Pain Basic Data Set, and the Brief Pain Inventory interference scale. Results: All mental well-being indices and both pain indices were significantly negatively related to life satisfaction. Life satisfaction mediated the relationship between pain intensity and both depression and anxiety; it also mediated the relationship between pain interference and depression but not anxiety. Conclusions: Improving life satisfaction may lead to reductions in pain interference, pain intensity, and psychological distress among persons with TSCI. Future research should assess interventions to improve life satisfaction in this population.

Tammy-Lee Williams, Conran Joseph, Lena Nilsson-Wikmar, Joliana Phillips