Measured intelligence of problematic patients with chronic pain

100 patients with chronic pain judged "problematic" by their referring physicians were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test-Revised. 38 obtained IQs of 85 or less while only 11 earned IQs of 101 or higher. While a number of confounds may have influenced these results, low intelligence appears to be a marker for negative treatment prognosis, at least as perceived by physicians, and its influence would seem to merit further investigation and clarification.