Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a world health problems and a major cause of disability Each year, between 15 and 45 percent of adults have low back pain, and 5 percent of persons present to the hospital with a new episode.Objective: To determine the correlation between pain intensity and quality of life (QoL) in patients with chronic LBP. Method and subject: This study was a descriptive analytical research with cross sectional design. Twenty-nine chronic LBP outpatients that have visited the Neurology Clinic of RSUP HAM Medan from July to November 2015 were selected by consecutive sampling. A questionnaire and interview asking the information about subjects characteristics, diagnosis, medical history, pain intensity and quality of life based on WHO QoL criteria was used to collect the data. Result: Using Spearman correlation test, we found correlation among VAS and physical function (p<0.001, r=-0.606), limitations due to physical problems (p<0.001, r=-0.837), limitations due to emotional problems (p=0.007, r=-0,477), vitality (p=0.021, r=-0.380), social function (p=0.015, r=-0.403), the feeling of pain (p=0.003, r=-0.499)  and general health (p=0.040, r=-0.330). On the other hand, there was no correlation between VAS and mental health (p=0.110, r=-0.235). Conclusion:We concluded that pain intensity in outpatients with chronic LBP in the Neurology Clinic at RSUP HAM Medan correlates with the patients’s quality of life.

Keywords :chronic LBP, pain intensity, quality of life