Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Consumption of psychoactive substances-alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, opioids, and cannabis-is common among people with fibromyalgia. Associations between the use of substances and somatic symptoms could reflect efforts to cope with symptoms, aggravation or alleviation of symptoms after the use of substances, or a combination of these. To date, no study has provided insight into temporal associations between the consumption of psychoactive substances and fluctuations in somatic symptoms. We explored whether changes in ratings of pain and fatigue (mental and physical) predicted the later use of psychoactive substances or vice versa (substance use predicting later change in symptoms). ⋯ Findings highlight the importance of individualized interventions for symptom management or problems related to the use of psychoactive substances. We observed that although somatic symptoms predicted later use of substances, use of substances did not show appreciable effects with regard to alleviating somatic symptoms in people with fibromyalgia.
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The Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS) is frequently used in pain research and treatment to classify mild, bothersome, and high impact chronic pain. This study's objective was to validate the revised version of the GCPS (GCPS-R) in a US Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare sample to support its use in this high-risk population. ⋯ Findings highlight categorical differences captured with the GCPS-R, and convergent validity supports use of the GCPS-R in US Veterans.
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The purpose of this study was to examine (1) the associations of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and pain catastrophizing with pain medication use in adolescents with chronic pain and (2) the extent to which these associations differed as a function of adolescents' sex. ⋯ Adolescents with chronic pain with higher levels of pain catastrophizing use pain medications more often. Research to examine the impact of interventions targeting pain catastrophizing on pain medication use among adolescents with chronic pain would be an important next step.