BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed at identifying the impact of chronic pain on working activities of patients seen by the Chronic Pain Center of the Teaching Hospital, Federal University of Maranhão. METHODS: This is a descriptive and transversal study with patients being treated for pain, using two questionnaires. A card-protocol was developed for clinical, sociodemographic, therapeutic and occupational data collection, with questions about gender, age, education, type of pain, interference of pain, proposed treatment and occupational status. Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF 36) was used to evaluate quality of life. RESULTS: Participated in the study 74 patients, being 25 (34%) males and 49 (66%) females. Approximately 30% had some working activity, while 74.3% were inactive. More than 47% of active patients have stated that pain would always worsen during activities. Among inactive patients, this ratio was 80%. There has been statistically significant difference in "functional capacity", "pain", "vitality" and "social aspects" domains, being that the group of inactive patients had the worst scores. CONCLUSION: Respondents were predominantly inactive. In addition, most patients have reported that working activities would always worsen pain. It has been observed that the domain contributing the most for low SF36 questionnaire scores was that related to physical limitations to perform daily and working activities.
Chronic pain; Quality of life; Working activity
