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Psychological responses to episodic chest pain
Kampadi Okpa1, Stephen Morley, Anthony R Hobson
1Salford Pain Centre, Hope Hospital, UK.
European Journal of Pain (London, England)
|October 25, 2003
Summary
This study explored pain coping styles in patients with episodic visceral pain. Findings suggest a two-profile model of "adaptive copers" and "dysfunctional" individuals, regardless of specific diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Pain Management
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Previous research identified three coping profiles for chronic musculoskeletal pain: dysfunctional, interpersonally distressed, and adaptive copers.
- The applicability of these profiles to episodic visceral pain remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether a similar taxonomy of pain coping styles exists in patients experiencing episodic visceral pain.
- To determine if these coping profiles are associated with specific diagnostic categories within episodic visceral pain.
Main Methods:
- Patients with diagnosed GERD, CAD, or non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) were recruited.
- Standardized affective and cognitive measures were administered to assess pain coping.
- K-means cluster analysis was employed to identify distinct patient profiles.
Main Results:
- Cluster analysis broadly replicated the three previously identified coping profiles, though the "interpersonally distressed" group was small.
- A more parsimonious two-cluster solution emerged, approximating "adaptive copers" and "dysfunctional" profiles.
- No significant association was found between cluster membership and specific diagnostic categories (GERD, CAD, NCCP).
Conclusions:
- Episodic visceral pain patients can be broadly categorized into "adaptive copers" and "dysfunctional" profiles.
- These coping styles do not appear to be diagnosis-specific within the studied episodic visceral pain conditions.
- The findings support a simplified, two-profile model for understanding pain coping in this population.
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