Relationships Between Chronic Pain Stage, Cognition, Temporal Lobe Cortex, and Sociodemographic Variables

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Public Health
• Gerontology

Background:

• Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) individuals face higher Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW).
• Race/ethnicity can indicate sociocultural and environmental influences.
• Chronic pain, prevalent and unequally distributed, is linked to cognitive decline and accelerated aging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cognitive and temporal lobe structural brain vulnerabilities for AD.
• To examine these vulnerabilities in relation to chronic pain stage and ethnicity/race.

Main Methods:

• 147 non-demented NHB and NHW adults (45-85 years) with knee osteoarthritis risk underwent MRI, MoCA, and pain assessment.
• Utilized 3T Philips MRI for detailed brain imaging.

Main Results:

• Ethnic/racial differences observed in MoCA scores; no direct link to chronic pain stage.
• Ethnicity/race moderated temporal lobe thickness and pain stage, with NHB adults in high pain stages showing quadratic patterns of thinner cortex.

Conclusions:

• Complex interplay exists between chronic pain, temporal lobe structure, and sociodemographics.
• NHB adults without dementia but with high chronic pain exhibited thinner AD-associated temporal cortex.
• Addressing sociocultural and socioeconomic factors is crucial for mitigating health disparities and neurodegenerative links.