Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun 1;37(6):454-474.
doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000933.

Measurement Properties of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and Revised Short McGill Pain Questionnaire Version-2 (SF-MPQ-2) in Pain-related Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Systematic Review

Samuel U Jumbo  1 , Joy C MacDermid  1   2   3 , Michael E Kalu  3 , Tara L Packham  3 , George S Athwal  2 , Kenneth J Faber  2
Affiliations

Measurement Properties of the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and Revised Short McGill Pain Questionnaire Version-2 (SF-MPQ-2) in Pain-related Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Systematic Review

Samuel U Jumbo et al. Clin J Pain. .

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to systematically locate, critically appraise, and summarize clinical measurement research addressing the use of Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) and Revised Short McGill Pain Questionnaire Version-2 (SF-MPQ-2) in pain-related musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

Materials and methods: We systematically searched 4 databases (Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, and SCOPUS) and screened articles to identify those reporting the psychometric properties (eg, validity, reliability) and interpretability (eg, minimal clinically important difference) of BPI-SF and SF-MPQ-2 as evaluated in pain-related MSK conditions. Independently, 2 reviewers extracted data and assessed the quality of evidence with a structured quality appraisal tool and the updated COSMIN guidelines.

Results: In all, 26 articles were included (BPI-SF, n=17; SF-MPQ-2, n=9). Both tools lack reporting on their cross-cultural validities and measurement error indices (eg, standard error of measurement). High-quality studies suggest the tools are internally consistent (α=0.83 to 0.96), and they associate modestly with similar outcomes (r=0.3 to 0.69). Strong evidence suggests the BPI-SF conforms to its 2-dimensional structure in MSK studies; the SF-MPQ-2 4-factor structure was not clearly established. Seven reports of high-to-moderate quality evidence were supportive of the BPI-SF known-group validity (n=2) and responsiveness (n=5). One report of high quality established the SF-MPQ-2 responsiveness.

Discussion: Evidence of high-to-moderate quality supports the internal consistency, criterion-convergent validity, structural validity, and responsiveness of the BPI-SF and SF-MPQ-2 and establishes their use as generic multidimensional pain outcomes in MSK populations. However, more studies of high quality are still needed on their retest reliability, known-group validity, cross-cultural validity, interpretability properties, and measurement error indices in different MSK populations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Supported by the Chronic Pain Network funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (Grant No: CIHR FRN SCA-145102), Ottawa, ON, Canada. S.U.J. was supported by a Western University Graduate Research Scholarship, London, ON, Canada. J.C.M. was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Chair in Gender, Work and Health, Ottawa, ON, Canada and the Dr. James Roth Chair in Musculoskeletal Measurement and Knowledge Translation, London, ON, Canada. All the authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Hoy D, March L, Brooks P, et al. The global burden of low back pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2014;73:968–974.
    1. Vos T, Barber RM, Bell B, et al. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet. 2015;;386:743–800.
    1. Briggs AM, Cross MJ, Hoy DG, et al. Musculoskeletal health conditions represent a global threat to healthy aging: a report for the 2015 World Health Organization World Report on Ageing and Health. Gerontologist. 2016;56 (suppl 2):S243–S255.
    1. Krebs EE, Lorenz KA, Bair MJ, et al. Development and initial validation of the PEG, a three-item scale assessing pain intensity and interference. J Gen Intern Med. 2009;24:733–738.
    1. McGuire DB. Comprehensive and multidimensional assessment and measurement of pain. J Pain Symptom Manage. 1992;7:312–319.

Publication types

Grants and funding