• Nanda C de Knegt, Frank Lobbezoo, Carlo Schuengel, Heleen M Evenhuis, and ScherderErik J AEJADepartment of Clinical Neuropsychology, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands..
• Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
• Pain Med. 2017 Jul 1; 18 (7): 1264-1277.

ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to examine whether cognitive functioning (i.e., memory and executive functioning) is related to self-reported presence of pain (i.e., affirmative answer to the question whether the individual feels pain) and experience of pain (i.e., intensity and affect) in adults with Down syndrome (DS).Design, Setting, And SubjectsCross-sectional study of 224 adults with DS (mean age = 38.1 years, mild-severe intellectual disabilities) in the Netherlands.MethodsFile-based medical information was evaluated. Self-reported presence and experience of pain were assessed during a test session, both in rest and after movement (affect with the facial affective scale [FAS], intensity with the numeric rating scale [NRS]). Neuropsychological tests for memory and executive functioning were used.ResultsParticipants with lower memory scores were more likely to report the presence of pain, while controlling for age, gender, physical conditions that may cause pain, language comprehension, and vocabulary ( p  = .030, 58.4% classification rate, N  = 154). No statistically significant associations were found between executive functioning and self-reported presence of pain or between cognitive functioning and self-reported pain experience.ConclusionsMemory seems to be related to the self-reported presence of pain in adults with DS after explicit inquiry, although the clinical use of this model is yet limited. Therefore, further research is needed for insight into the role of cognitive processes in self-report (e.g., involving aspects such as acquiescence and repeated measurements) to evaluate whether neuropsychological examination could contribute to pain assessment in DS.© 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

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