Impact of musculoskeletal conditions on outcomes of other illnesses using linked electronic health records (HES-CPRD) study

People with musculoskeletal pain often have other illnesses. These illnesses have major impacts on quality of life and are of high priority for the NHS. Health professionals may not prioritise management of this pain when they feel another illness is more serious. Yet pain, alongside associated poor function and sleep interference, may reduce the effectiveness and delivery of treatment for other illnesses and so increase the chance of a poor outcome from these illnesses.

This study will determine whether having existing musculoskeletal pain leads to worse outcomes such as more and longer hospital stays, worse outcomes such as death and faster progression of illness, and differences in management. Information will be collected from a large UK database of general practice records linked to hospital records and mortality data. Data of patients newly diagnosed with heart attack, stroke, pneumonia, dementia, or cancer will be analysed. The differences of the impact of musculoskeletal pain on these illnesses, if any, will be assessed among people of different age or ethnicity, or who live in different areas of the country, in a rural area, or in a deprived area. If there is a link with musculoskeletal pain with poor outcomes, this will provide new evidence of the need to test better musculoskeletal management strategies before and during hospital admission (for example, exercise/physiotherapy, aids/devices for daily living, and better drug treatment) to reduce pain and improve function, that may improve outcomes across other illnesses.

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