Prevalence of pain and association with quality of life, depression and glycaemic control in patients with diabetes

Aims To determine the prevalence of pain and its association with glycaemic control, mental health and physical functioning in patients with diabetes. Methods Cross-sectional data from a multi-site, prospective cohort study of 11 689 participants with diabetes. We analysed the associations of pain severity and interference with glycated haemoglobin (HbA_1c) measurements and Medical Outcomes Study SF - Mental and Physical Component Summary-12 (MCS-12 and PCS-12) scores. Results Of participants, 57.8% reported moderate to extreme pain and, compared with those without pain, were somewhat older (60.8 vs. 59.9 years, P < 0.001), more obese (body mass index of 32.1 vs. 29.8 kg/m ², P < 0.001), more likely to report being depressed or anxious (41.3 vs. 16.2%, P < 0.001) and more likely to report fair or poor health (48.5 vs. 23.1%, P < 0.001). Bivariate comparisons demonstrated that patients with extreme pain had higher HbA_1c than those without pain (8.3 vs. 8.0%, P = 0.001). In multivariable analyses, pain was not associated with HbA_1c (P = 0.304) but was strongly associated with worse MCS-12 (P < 0.001), PCS-12 (P < 0.001) and depression (P < 0.001). Depression was 1.3 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.96) times more likely in patients with moderate pain and 2.0 (95% CI: 1.56, 2.46) times more likely in patients with extreme pain. Conclusions Moderate to extreme pain was present in 57.8% of diabetic patients. Pain was strongly associated with poorer mental health and physical functioning, but not worse glycaemic control. Recognizing the high prevalence of pain and its strong association with poorer health-related quality of life may be important to improve the comprehensive management of diabetes.