Table 2.
Associations between opioid pain medication use and measures of pain severity, quality of life, and depression (N = 604)
| Characteristic | Opioid Use (N = 136), Mean (SD) | No Opioid Use (N = 468), Mean (SD) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pain severity* | 7.22 (1.70) | 6.89 (1.89) | 0.0712 |
| Pain interference† | 7.30 (2.16) | 6.07 (2.73) | <0.0001 |
| PHQ-9 score‡ | 11.31 (5.99) | 8.65 (6.05) | <0.0001 |
| PHQ-9 categories, No. (%) | 0.0007 | ||
| 0–4 | 16 (11.9) | 132 (28.6) | |
| 5–9 | 43 (32.1) | 144 (31.2) | |
| 10–14 | 32 (23.9) | 93 (20.1) | |
| 15–19 | 30 (22.4) | 69 (14.9) | |
| ≥20 | 13 (9.7) | 24 (5.2) | |
| PROMIS global physical health§ | 8.98 (2.50) | 10.13 (2.81) | <0.0001 |
| PROMIS global mental health¶ | 9.91 (3.54) | 11.66 (3.86) | <0.0001 |
PHQ-9 = Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PROMIS = Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems.
Scale of 0 = no pain to 10 = worst pain imaginable.
Scale of 0 = no interference to 10 = completely interferes.
Scale of 0–27, with higher scores indicating greater depression.
Answer to the question “In general, how would you rate your physical health?” with the following answer categories: 5 = excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = fair, and 1 = poor.
Answer to the question “In general, how would you rate your mental health, including your mood and your ability to think?” with the following answer categories: 5 = excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = fair, and 1 = poor.