Psychological distress and help-seeking in patients with chronic pain

High prevalence of psychiatric morbidity has been reported among patients with chronic pain. However, there were no such investigations in Taiwan as well as help-seeking behavior in chronic pain patients.

One hundred patients with chronic nonmalignant pain over a period of six or more months were assessed systemically by a research psychiatrist and an anesthesiologist using structured interviews. Self-reported pain in patients was measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Their help-seeking behavior was analyzed and compared with the psychiatric diagnoses.

Ninety-four percent of the subjects had at least one psychiatric diagnosis, and nearly three-quarters had depressive disorders. Pain was multifoci, mostly involving the head and neck areas. More than one-third of the patients attributed the cause of pain to both psychological distress and physical problems.

Significantly high psychiatric morbidity was found in patients with chronic pain, predominantly depression, but very few had sought psychiatric consultation. Psychiatric intervention is therefore necessary for effective chronic pain management.