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Graded chronic pain scale revised: validation in a Veteran sample.
Chloe Taub1,2, Kirsha S Gordon3,4, Joseph Goulet3,5
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, United States.
Pain Medicine (Malden, Mass.)
|May 23, 2023
Summary
The revised Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS-R) effectively categorizes chronic pain severity in US Veterans. This validation supports its use in assessing pain impact and guiding treatment for veterans with mild, bothersome, or high impact chronic pain.
Area of Science:
- Pain Medicine
- Clinical Psychology
- Health Services Research
Background:
- The Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS) is a widely used tool for classifying chronic pain.
- Validation in diverse populations, such as US Veterans, is crucial for its clinical utility.
- The revised Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS-R) requires validation in specific healthcare settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the revised Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS-R) within a US Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system.
- To assess the GCPS-R's ability to differentiate between mild, bothersome, and high impact chronic pain in veterans.
- To support the use of the GCPS-R in this high-risk population for pain research and treatment.
Main Methods:
- Data collected from 794 Veterans via self-report (GCPS-R, health questionnaires) and electronic health records.
- Logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age and gender, was employed to compare health indicators across pain grades.
- Convergent validity was assessed by comparing GCPS-R findings with existing health data and opioid prescription records.
Main Results:
- Chronic pain prevalence was 49.3% in the veteran sample.
- Pain was categorized as mild (7.1%), bothersome (23.3%), and high impact (21.1%).
- Veterans with bothersome or high impact chronic pain were more likely to receive long-term opioid therapy compared to those with no/mild pain.
Conclusions:
- The GCPS-R demonstrates categorical differentiation of chronic pain in US Veterans.
- Convergent validity supports the use of the GCPS-R in the VA healthcare system.
- The scale aids in identifying veterans with significant pain impact, informing clinical decisions and research.
