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Chronic pain in a large community sample of persons with multiple sclerosis
Dawn M Ehde1, Laura E Gibbons, Lydia Chwastiak
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ehde@u.washington.edu
Introduction:
This study examined the prevalence, intensity, interference, and biopsychosocial correlates of pain in a large community-based sample of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methods:
Mail surveys were returned by 442 members of the King County (WA) MS Association. Average pain intensity, pain-related activity interference, depressive symptoms and severity of MS were assessed.
Results:
Forty-four percent reported persistent, bothersome pain in the three months prior to completing the survey. Participants with pain reported an average pain intensity rating of 5.2 (SD = 2.3) on the 0 (no pain) to 10 (pain as bad as could be) scale. Twenty-seven percent reported severe pain (score of 7-10), while 51% of those with pain rated the interference of their pain with daily activities as none to minimal. Twenty percent reported severe interference in activities as a result of pain. In multivariate modeling, MS illness severity, marital status, and self-ratings of overall health were significantly associated with pain-related interference with activities.
Conclusions:
Approximately a fourth of this sample described having a chronic pain problem characterized by severe pain intensity and significant pain-related interference with activities. Disability due to pain may be more important than previously recognized for the MS population.