Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 30, 2025
08:33
Author Spotlight: Methodologies and Advancements of Chronic Pain Management Research
Published on: January 5, 2024
1.2K
Chronic Pain, Analgesics, and Cognitive Status: A Comprehensive Mendelian Randomization Study
Xingzhi Guo1,2,3, Chen Hou1,2, Peng Tang1,2
1From the Department of Geriatric Neurology, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
Anesthesia and Analgesia
|May 12, 2023
Summary
Chronic pain, especially multisite chronic pain, may predict future cognitive decline. Patients with dementia showed lower use of anilides and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), suggesting potential under-treatment of pain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Observational studies suggest links between chronic pain (CP), analgesic use, and cognitive status.
- The causal nature of these associations remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal relationship between CP, analgesic use, and cognitive status using a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.
- To analyze nine types of CP, four classes of analgesics, and various cognitive outcomes including dementia.
Main Methods:
- A bidirectional MR study utilizing summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS).
- Employed inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method and Benjamini-Hochberg correction for multiple testing.
- Used strong genetic instruments (P < .001) for analysis.
Main Results:
- Multisite CP (MCP) was associated with worse cognitive function (OR 0.69 [0.53-0.89], P = .043).
- No significant reverse effect of cognitive status on CP was observed.
- No significant associations were found between analgesic use and cognitive status.
- Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Lewy body dementia (LBD) showed significantly lower exposure to anilides and NSAIDs.
Conclusions:
- An increased number of CP sites may predict future cognitive decline.
- Patients with dementia appear to have lower exposure to anilides and NSAIDs, indicating potential inadequate pain management.
