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. 2014 Jan 9;15:10. doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-15-10

Table 7.

Studies examining the relationship between poor mental health and knee pain

Author (year) Study design Assessment of general mental health Assessment of pain Results Conclusion Quality score
O’Reilly (1998)
Cross-sectional
SF-36 Questionnaire – Mental Health Component
Knee pain on most days for at least a month (in the past year)
Mental health score (<61): OR: 2.1 95% CI: 1.7-2.6
Lower mental health scores were associated with increased odds of knee pain.
45
Knee pain: Median (IQR): 72(56–84)
No knee pain: Median (IQR): 76(64–88). P < 0.001
Matsudaira (2011)
Cross-sectional
SF36 subscale
Self reported knee pain in past month or in the past year
Knee pain and mental health: Not significant (Data not provided)
There was no association found between knee pain and general mental health.
82
Harcombe (2010)
Cross-sectional
Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5)
Self-reported knee pain lasting for more than a day in the month
Knee pain and mental health: OR (95% CI)= 0.96 (0.90 to 1.02); p value=0.194
There was no association between self-reported knee pain and mental health.
73
Standardised Nordic Questionnaires for MSDs and Brief Symptom Inventory diagram showing the area of the body
Davis (1992) Cross-sectional Psychological Wellbeing: NHANES General Wellbeing Index Pain on most days lasting one month in the past year or knee pain on active or passive motion during the examination Psychological wellbeing (score ≤70 & reference group >94)
Psychological wellbeing was associated with knee pain among participants with and without radiographic OA. 45
OA and No OA: OR (95% CI)= 1.4 (1.0 to 2.0)
OA ± Pain: OR (95% CI)= 3.7 (1.8 to 7.6)
Pain ± OA: OR (95% CI)= 3.2 (2.1 to 5.0)

NHANES , National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey; PFS , Physical Functioning Score; WOMAC , Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index; PCI , Pain Coping Inventory; 4DSQ , Four Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire; CES-D , Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; QOL , Quality of Life; SF-36 , Short-Form-36 Health Survey; SSS , Social Support Scale; VAS , Visual Analogue Scale; OA , osteoarthritis; K/L scale , Kellgren and Lawrence Atlas of Standard Radiographs of Arthritis; WOMAC , Western Ontario and McMaster University Arthritis Index; MPQ , McGill Pain Questionnaire; AIMS , Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales; ACR , American College of Rheumatology; NA , not available; PFS , Physical Functioning Scale; IRGL , Invloed van Reuma op Gezondheid en Leefwijze (Dutch version of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale).