Pain Sensitivity in Patients With Major Depression: Differential Effect of Pain Sensitivity Measures, Somatic Cofactors, and Disease Characteristics

Hermesdorf, Marco; Berger, Klaus; Baune, Bernhard T.; Wellmann, Jürgen; Ruscheweyh, Ruth und Wersching, Heike (2016): Pain Sensitivity in Patients With Major Depression: Differential Effect of Pain Sensitivity Measures, Somatic Cofactors, and Disease Characteristics. In: Journal of Pain, Bd. 17, Nr. 5: S. 606-616

Abstract

Patients with depression often report pain. Evidence regarding altered pain sensitivity in depressed patients remains, however, inconclusive. In a large cross-sectional study we investigated the association between depression and pain sensitivity with regard to 2 different dimensions of pain sensitivity, as well as the effect of somatic cofactors, symptom severity, and subtype of depression. In 735 patients with a current episode of major depression and 456 never-depressed control participants pain thresholds (pressure pain thresholds, PPTs) were measured at the index finger pad and self-rated suprathreshold pain intensity ratings were obtained using the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ)-minor subscore, an instrument that assesses pain intensity in daily life situations. Additionally, lifestyle factors, medical, and psychiatric conditions were assessed. Unadjusted, patients with depression had lower PPTs and higher PSQ-minor scores indicating increased pain sensitivity. After adjusting for potential mediators, such as poor sleep quality and physical inactivity, patients did not differ from control participants regarding PPTs, but still had significantly higher PSQ-minor ratings. Among patients with depression, severity of anxiety symptoms predicted higher PSQ-minor scores. In conclusion, we found a differential effect of depression on the 2 pain sensitivity dimensions: Decreased experimentally obtained pain thresholds were explained by depression-associated somatic factors whereas increased self-rated suprathreshold pain intensity ratings were associated with increased anxiety symptoms. (C) 2016 by the American Pain Society

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Medizin
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• ISSN: 1526-5900
• Sprache: Englisch