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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Author Spotlight: Quantifying Pain Experience – An Illustrative Approach Using the Pain Body Diagram
Published on: July 7, 2023
Pain intensity, depressive symptoms, and functional limitations among older adults with serious mental illness
Jessica M Brooks1,2, Courtney A Polenick3, William Bryson4
1a Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine and Centers for Health and Aging , Dartmouth College , Lebanon , NH , USA.
Objective:
To examine pain-related activity interference as a mediator for the relationship between pain intensity and depressive symptoms among older adults with serious mental illness (SMI).
Method:
Ordinary least-squares regressions were used to investigate the mediation analysis among older adults with SMI (n = 183) from community mental health centers. Analyses used secondary data from the HOPES intervention study.
Results:
Higher pain intensity was associated with greater pain-related activity interference. Higher pain intensity and pain-related activity interference were also associated with elevated depressive symptoms. Finally, greater pain-related activity interference significantly mediated the association between higher pain intensity and elevated depressive symptoms.
Conclusions:
These findings demonstrate that pain and depressive symptoms may be linked to functional limitations. Clinicians and researchers in the mental health field should better address pain-related activity interference among older adults with SMI, especially among those with higher pain intensity and elevated depressive symptoms.
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