Correlation of short form 36 health survey with other relevant clinical scores in patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis

Study Design: Observational study. Objectives: To investigate the correlation of Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) score with various relevant clinical scoring systems, in patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Materials and Methods: Eighty-two patients aged more than 40 years with clinicoradiological features suggestive of degenerative LSS were enrolled. All patients completed 10 clinical scoring questionnaires, which included SF-36, Oswestry Disability Index, Swiss Spinal Stenosis (SSS) Questionnaire, Quebec Pain Disability, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (back pain), Modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA), Pain Disability Index (PDI), Self-paced Walking Test (SPWT), VAS (leg pain), and Neurogenic Claudication Outcome Score. A comparison of 8 health concepts of SF-36 and health change was done with other 9 clinical scores and they were statistically analyzed and correlated. Results: The mean age was 53.02 years and included 51 females (62.2%) and 31 (37.8%) males. Out of 8 health concepts, 3 of them, pain, emotional well-being, and energy/fatigue, showed a statistically significant moderate correlation with 6 clinical scores (SSS, QPD, VAS back pain, mJOA, PDI, and SPWT) (P < 0.05, r > 0.3). The mJOA scale showed a moderate negative correlation with 4 other components also namely, role limitations due to physical health, role limitations due to emotional problems, social functioning, physical functioning as well as health change (P < 0.05, r > 0.3). Role limitations due to physical health had a moderate negative correlation with QPD scale also (P < 0.05, r > 0.3). Conclusions: Pain, emotional well-being, and energy/fatigue showed a moderate correlation with maximum number of scores and mJOA scale had a moderate negative correlation with 7 out of 8 components of SF-36 as well as Health change.