Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is an entrapment neuropathy 
accounting for up to 90% of nerve compression syndromes. It causes both positive 
and negative symptoms in the hands. These symptoms, especially pain, can be 
debilitating, which can in turn have a negative effect on patients' quality of 
life (QoL). The aim of this cross-sectional case-controlled study was two-fold; 
to compare the QoL of patients with CTS and subjects without CTS and to 
determine the effect of pain on QoL in patients with CTS.Methods: All patients 
underwent nerve conduction studies (NCS) and were classified into mild, 
moderate, severe. QoL was assessed via the SF-36 questionnaire.Results: 
Fifty-one patients and 45 age- and gender-matched controls were recruited. 
Prevalence of pain (determined as scoring 4 or above on a visual analog scale) 
in CTS was 39.2%. CTS patient health-related QOL scores were significantly 
reduced (p < 0.001) across all of the SF-36 domains, compared to the healthy 
control group scores. After adjusting for gender presence of pain was still 
significantly negatively correlated with scores for physical functioning (beta 
-0.283, p = 0.036).Conclusions: Patients with CTS have a significantly worse QoL 
compared to subjects without CTS. In addition, the presence of pain is a 
significant determinant of physical functioning in patients who have been 
diagnosed with CTS.