• Clin J Pain · Jun 1993

    Comparative Study

    Depression and the experience of chronic back pain: a study of related variables and age differences.

    • K A Herr, P R Mobily, and C Smith.
    • College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City.
    • Clin J Pain. 1993 Jun 1; 9 (2): 104-14.

    ObjectiveTo document the prevalence of depression and examine the relationship between depression and selected pain-related variables associated with chronic back pain among elderly and nonelderly samples.DesignSurvey with mailed questionnaire.SettingPatients seeking treatment at a spine diagnostic and treatment center.PatientsConsecutive sample of elderly subjects (n = 69). Nonelderly subjects (n = 59) were randomly selected to achieve a sample size comparable to the elderly. Evaluation of depressed mood was determined by Beck Depression Inventory.Main Outcome MeasuresMultidimensional Pain Inventory, Pain Disability Index, Pain Duration, Work-Related Disability, Medication Use, and Pain Severity.ResultsA high prevalence of dysphoria was found in both age groups. No significant differences were found between age and depressed mood. The only significant association between depressed mood and age occurred with pain duration, with the elderly experiencing fewer total hours per day in pain. Combining age groups, multivariate analysis of variance revealed that dysphoric chronic pain patients reported more antidepressant use, greater pain intensity, greater interference due to pain, and less life control than the nondepressed patients. Interference in activities demonstrated the strongest relationship with depressed mood in both age groups.ConclusionsThere is a high prevalence of dysphoria in both the elderly and nonelderly with chronic back pain. The relationships between pain-related constructs and depressed mood in chronic back pain patients are similar in the elderly and nonelderly. The impact of the pain experience on the individual's activities, functioning, and feelings of life control should be considered in theoretical and clinical explanations of the association between pain and depression.

      Pubmed     Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…

What will the 'Medical Journal of You' look like?

Start your free 21 day trial now.

We guarantee your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.