Related Experiment Videos
Correlates of depression in chronic pain patients: a comprehensive examination
Patricia M Averill1, Diane M Novy, David V Nelson
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030 USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030 USA University Center for Pain Medicine and Rehabilitation at Hermann Hospital, Houston, TX 77030 USA.
Abstract:
This study examined the relations between depression and demographic, pain-related, and work-related variables in 254 chronic pain patients. Regression analyses were conducted, initially by category (i.e., demographic, pain-related, and work-related), and finally a comprehensive regression analysis was performed, containing the significant independent variables from each category. Among the demographic variables, education level and marital status were related to depression, and an interaction between age and gender was associated with depression, with younger women and older men reporting more depression. Among the pain-related variables, longer duration of pain was associated with increased depression. Among the work-related variables, unemployment was associated with depression, and there was an interaction between work status and litigation status, with working and litigating being associated with depression and not working and not litigating being associated with depression. In the comprehensive analysis, work status, education level, and marital status accounted for a significant amount of the variance in depression scores. These findings, together with future research directions, are discussed.