Characterizing chronic pain and alcohol use trajectory among treatment-seeking alcoholics

Accumulating evidence indicates pain may be an important risk factor for development of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and risk of relapse for people recovering from AUD. This study was conducted to characterize the prevalence and severity of significant recurrent pain and various chronic pain conditions in treatment-seeking alcoholics. In addition, we sought to examine associations between alcohol use trajectory and pain presence/severity. Four hundred fifty-one treatment-seeking alcoholics were recruited for this study. Participants completed a battery of assessments, including measures of demographics, affect, alcohol and other drug use, presence/absence of significant recurrent pain, recent pain severity, and chronic pain type. Analyses indicated significant recurrent pain was highly prevalent in the study sample (53.66%), and was significantly more common among women (62.57%) than men (47.35%; p = 0.001). Typical drinking prior to treatment did not differ by pain status, but participants with pain were more likely to report current opioid use. Individuals with pain reported greater depression and anxiety than those without (p < 0.0008), and pain tended to be more severe among women than men (p = 0.035). Both men and women with pain indicated that pain had affected their substance use. In addition, both later age of first treatment and longer transition time from alcohol dependence to treatment were associated with greater pain severity, especially among men. These data suggest chronic pain is highly prevalent among treatment-seeking alcoholics, especially women, and that delays to first treatment are associated with pain presence and intensity. These results highlight the importance of effective pain management for the subset of treatment seekers with pain.