EMOTIONAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PAIN

Background: Chronic Pain (CP) is a major healthcare problem. European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines CP as a daily pain that persists for 3 months, affecting different aspects of the patients’ life. CP is a subjective experience where both physical and psychological factors are involved. The aim of this study was to investigate emotional and cognitive functioning in patients with CP compared to that of non- clinical subjects. Methods: A total of 118 consecutive outpatients (63.6 % female; mean age 57.1) with chronic pain were recruited from the Pain Therapy Clinic - University of Bari General Hospital. 86 non-clinical subjects were recruited from outpatients’ caregivers. We assessed levels of pain (Brief Pain Inventory - BPI), anxiety and depression (HADS), quality of life (SF-36), and cognitive functioning (Coloured Progressive Matrices - CPM). Results: CP patients showed a worse cognitive functioning (24.89±7.06, p<.01), physical functioning (29.79±7.83, p<.001), and mental functioning (36.71±12.74, p<.01). CP participants showed higher scores on HADS Anxiety (11.31±6.17, p<.001), HADS Depression (9.69±4.93, p<.001), Pain Severity (6.13±2.07, p< .001), Pain Interference (6.60±2.42, p<.01). Among CP subjects, HADS Anxiety independently explained 18 % of the variance of CPM score (β=-.449, p<.001). Conclusions: CP patients are characterized by poorer psychosocial functioning, cognitive impairment, higher rates of anxiety and depression. These results underline the importance of a psychological assessment in order to develop a comprehensive approach to CP treatment.