Anxiety and depression in relation to chronic low back pain in patients over 18 years of age in the traumatology outpatient clinic

Background: Low back pain is a condition that frequently causes functional limitations, closely related to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, which have been shown to increase the perception of intensity of chronic pain in patients, hence its importance of study. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between anxiety and depression with chronic low back pain in patients over 18 years of age at HGZMF No. 2. Material and methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study carried out between January and June 2024, at General Hospital of Zone No. 2, to patients over 18 years of age with low back pain. The Goldberg Scale was applied to identify anxiety and depression. Descriptive statistics and the Chi2 test were used to determine associations between categorical variables, with a p value <0.05, using SPSS v.23. Results: 103 patients were analyzed: 81 (78.6%) with chronic low back pain and 22 (21.4%) acute. Anxiety affected 74 (71.8%), especially women (44.7%), employed (28.2%), married (59.2%), overweight (13.6%) and inactive (50.5%). Depression affected 59 (57.3%), mainly women (35.0%) and housewives (25.2%). No relationship was found between anxiety and chronic low back pain (p = 0.500), but there was a relationship with depression (p = 0.006). Conclusion: Depression is associated with chronic low back pain, increasing the perception of pain in those with these mental disorders, so a multidisciplinary approach is required to treat both the physical and mental health of patients.