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Study: Patients with chronic pain have more psychological distress than patients with RA
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Greater levels of psychological distress, including depressive symptoms and anxiety, were observed among patients with chronic pain compared to patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to recently presented research.
Researchers studied 330 participants, including 167 patients with chronic pain and 163 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), who were recruited from academic hospitals in London, Ontario, during a period of 20 months. Participants completed a booklet of questionnaires about their demographics and noted the cause, severity and duration of their pain. Questionnaires included the Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale (PASS), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form and the Depression and Anxiety Stress Scales–Short Form (DASS-SF). Investigators compared the psychological and personality variables between patients with chronic pain and patients with RA.
Responses to subscales of the DSS-SF, PASS and PCS revealed a significantly higher level of disability in patients with chronic pain compared to patients with RA. After stratification of DASS-SF by severity, researchers found significant differences between the patient groups for rates of depression and anxiety, with higher levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety observed in patients with chronic pain compared to patients with RA. – by Shirley Pulawski
Disclosure s : The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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