• J Gen Intern Med · Mar 2021

    Chronic Pain and Psychological Distress Among Undocumented Latinx Immigrants in the USA.

    • Luz M Garcini, Ryan Brown, Khadija Ziauddin, Michelle A Chen, Levi Saucedo, Angie S LeRoy, Paula Morales, Christopher Fagundes, and Joel Tsevat.
    • Center for Research to Advance Community Health (ReACH) and Department of Medicine, Long School of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), San Antonio, TX, USA. garcinlm@gmail.com.
    • J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Mar 1; 36 (3): 585-591.

    BackgroundUndocumented immigration is often accompanied by multiple and complex stressors, which over time may increase the risk for chronic pain.ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify the prevalence of chronic pain and its association with psychological distress among undocumented Latinx immigrants in the USA.Design/ParticipantsWe used respondent-driven sampling to collect and analyze data from clinical interviews with 254 undocumented Latinx immigrants, enabling inference to a population of 22,000.Main MeasuresChronic pain was assessed using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) Chronic Conditions Module. For all analyses, inferential statistics accounted for design effects and sample weights to produce weighted estimates. We conducted logistic regression analyses to assess the association between chronic pain and psychological distress after controlling for age, years in the USA, and history of trauma.ResultsA total of 28% of undocumented Latinx immigrants reported having chronic pain, and 20% of those had clinically significant psychological distress. Significant differences in the prevalence of chronic pain were reported across age groups, years in the USA, and trauma history. After controlling for relevant covariates, chronic pain was significantly associated with psychological distress (OR = 1.06, 95% CI [1.02, 1.09]), age (OR = 1.05, 95% CI [1.02; 1.09]), and history of trauma (OR = 1.10 per additional traumatic event, 95% CI [1.02; 1.19]; C-statistic = 0.79).ConclusionAmong undocumented Latinx immigrants, chronic pain is significantly associated with psychological distress, older age, and trauma history. Given that undocumented immigrants have restricted access to healthcare and are at high risk for chronic pain, developing alternatives to facilitate access to chronic pain interventions and risk-reduction prevention are needed.

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