Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Sciatica pain represents a typical symptom of spinal radicular syndromes. Disability due to this pain can affect mental health of patients. OBJECTIVES: Our study aims to assess the relationship between mental health and disability among patients with chronic sciatica. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional survey among patients suffering from documented common sciatic pain evolving for more than 3 months. We collected socio-professional data. We used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). RESULTS: Our study population was exclusively female, including 69 patients. The mean age of participants was 56.2 ±12.6 years. The most frequent etiology of sciatica pain was a herniated disc, followed by lumbar spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis. The root path was L5 in 49 cases and S1 in 20 cases. The mean Oswestry score was 25 ± 4.1. The disability was moderate, severe and crippled respectively in 10.1%, 82.6% and 7.2% of patients. Regarding the patients’ anxiety levels, it was found that 76.8%, 20.3%, and 2.9% appeared to have mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively. As for the depression levels of patients, 13 were mildly depressed (18.8%), 20 were moderately depressed (29%), and 36 were severely depressed (52.2%). We found that anxiety and depression were correlated with disability (p = <0.05, r = 0.2). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight a correlation between altered mental health and disability among patients with chronic sciatica. It is crucial to screen psychiatric disorders among these patients in order to improve their well-being. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST: None Declared