POS1500-HPR GOOD HEALTH STATUS AND NORMAL WEIGHT PREVENT CHRONIC PAIN
Authors: C. Sylwander, E. Haglund, I. Larsson, M. Andersson
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> Up to 35% of the adult European population have chronic pain [1]. The prevalence is estimated to increase with an older population and a sedentary lifestyle, and health-promotive research on chronic pain is crucial [2]. Knee pain increases the risk of developing chronic widespread pain (CWP) [3]. Having CWP affects the individual, causing reduced health status, impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions such as sick leaves, whereas early prevention is necessary. <h3>Objectives:</h3> To examine whether normal weight, diet, physical activity (PA), and health status have a preventive impact on reporting chronic pain at a two-year follow-up in individuals with knee pain. <h3>Methods:</h3> The study had a longitudinal cohort design and included 251 individuals aged 30-60 years reporting knee pain at baseline (70% women, mean age 52±8.5 years). Body weight was assessed with body mass index (BMI) and visceral fat area (VFA). The participants answered questions about their lifestyle habits, diet, and level of PA, and health status was measured via SF-36. Pain distribution was assessed with a pain mannequin. Differences in BMI, VFA, diet, PA, and health status over time were analysed with the Kruskal Wallis test with pairwise comparisons. Multinominal regression analysis was performed to study associations with reporting chronic pain at follow-up. <h3>Results:</h3> According to BMI, 45% of the individuals were of normal weight, 34% were overweight, and 21% were obese. Among those with no chronic pain (NCP) except for knee pain, 54% were normal weight, and 65% had a healthy VFA (&lt;100cm<sup>2</sup>). In this group, 71% met the World Health Organisations recommendations for PA, and 29% reported having a healthy diet. In comparison, among those with CWP, 62% met the PA recommendations, and 19% had a healthy diet. No significant changes in BMI, VFA, lifestyle habits, or health status were reported after two years. Reporting better health status and normal weight were associated with no chronic pain after two years (Table 1). <h3>Conclusion:</h3> Maintaining good health status and a normal weight could help prevent the development of CWP. Therefore, the combination of knee pain, overweight, obesity or poorer health status should receive greater attention in healthcare to prevent the onset of chronic regional pain (CRP) and CWP. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> [1] Breivik et al. The individual and societal burden of chronic pain in Europe. BMC Public. 2013;13:229. [2] Blyth et al. he global burden of musculoskeletal pain—where to from here? Am J Public Health. 2019;109:35-40. [3] Bergman et al. Chronic widespread pain and its associations with quality of life and function at a 20-year follow-up of individuals with chronic knee pain at inclusion. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2019;20:592. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> We would like to thank the individuals who participated in the study and the research assistants for their support in the data collection. <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> <b>None declared.</b>