Does sleep quality modify the relationship between common mental disorders and chronic low back pain in adult women?

• Published in: Sleep medicine 2022-08, Vol.96, p.132-139
• Main Authors: Barazzetti, Lidiane, Garcez, Anderson, Freitas Sant’Anna, Patrícia Cilene, Souza de Bairros, Fernanda, Dias-da-Costa, Juvenal Soares, Anselmo Olinto, Maria Teresa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chronic low back pain; Common mental disorders; Sleep quality; Women's health
• ISSN: 1389-9457; 1878-5506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2022.05.006

This study explored the association between common mental disorders (CMD) and chronic low back pain (CLBP) in women, while considering poor sleep quality as a potential effect modifier of this relationship. A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted with a representative sample of 1068 women (age 20–69 years) living in the urban area of São Leopoldo, RS, Brazil. CLBP was defined as pain lasting for ≥3 months; CMD was assessed using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20; score ≥8); poor sleep quality was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; score ≥5). Poisson regression with robust variance was used to estimate the prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The prevalence of CLBP, CMD, and poor sleep quality was 46.8% (95% CI: 43.8–49.8), 33.5% (95% CI: 30.3–36.3), and 42.3% (95% CI: 39.3–45.2), respectively. Poor sleep quality was a significant modifier of the association between CMD and CLBP. Among women with poor sleep quality, women with CMD had a 48% higher probability of having CLBP compared to women without CMD and after adjustment for confounders (PR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.23–1.77; p