Validation of the General Health Questionnaire 12 for assessing psychological distress in patients with chronic low back pain.

Background: The General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) is a short easy-to-use scale to assess psychological distress. The GHQ-12 has not been validated for assessing psychological distress in patients with chronic low back pain (LBP).

Objective: To investigate the psychometric properties of the GHQ-12 in patients with chronic LBP.

Visceral obesity and chronic pain: effect of a 4-week rehabilitation program on adipokines and insulin resistance.

Obesity and chronic pain are two major diseases of the 21th century. Our principal objective was to investigate the effects of a 4-week rehabilitation program on adiponectin and leptin concentrations, and insulin resistance, in patients with abdominal obesity and chronic pain syndrome. Our secondary objectives were to investigate the effects of this program on pain, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and maximal oxygen consumption (VO) and to compare changes in VO between patients with or without insulin resistance.