PurposeExamine whether baseline participant characteristics predict engagement in a movement-based RCT for chronic low back pain (CLBP).DesignLongitudinal study within an RCT.SettingOnline.Subjects138 individuals with CLBP (18-79 years).InterventionParticipants were randomized to a 12-week intervention of twice-weekly synchronous online yoga OR stretching/strengthening classes, and received 20-min pre-recorded home videos to complete daily.MeasuresBaseline questionnaires assessed sociodemographic, psychosocial, and pain factors (100% response rate). Engagement was operationalized as minutes of class attended + minutes of home videos completed.ResultsBivariate correlations were computed between baseline variables and engagement. Three multivariate negative binomial generalized linear models (GLMs) were constructed to simultaneously examine predictors of engagement in the domains of sociodemographic, psychosocial, and pain-related factors. Greater engagement was significantly associated with greater baseline age, educational attainment, energy, and emotional well-being, and less emotion regulation difficulties, cannabis use problems, and pain interference (|rs| = .19-.33). In the domain specific GLMs, education (B = .491, P = .017) and cannabis use problems (B = -.048, P = .027) were the only significant predictors in the sociodemographic and psychosocial models, respectively. Neither pain interference nor pain severity were significant in the pain model.ConclusionFactors identified can inform strategies to increase engagement in movement-based CLBP interventions, potentially improving research validity and outcomes. Limitations include lack of racial diversity and not testing how engagement fluctuates throughout the intervention.

Chronic pain affects up to 20% of children and adolescents and often persists into adulthood. Asian Americans, one of the fastest-growing U.S. minority groups for those under 18 years old, are underrepresented in chronic pain research despite facing racial and ethnic discrimination-a known risk factor for chronic pain. This study examines the prevalence of chronic pain in Asian American youth and its association with racial discrimination. Cross-sectional analysis of the 2016-2022 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) was conducted. Caregivers of children aged 3-17 reported if their child had been treated unfairly due to race/ethnicity. Chronic pain was defined as frequent or chronic physical pain over the past 12 months. Rates of chronic pain were compared across racial/ethnic groups, and analyses among Asian Americans (n=13,138) examined associations between discrimination and chronic pain, controlling for sociodemographics, health conditions, and adverse experiences. Asian Americans reported lower chronic pain rates (~2.8-4.9%) than other racial/ethnic groups (~5.1-11%, p<0.0001). Among Asian Americans, chronic pain prevalence was higher in those reporting discrimination (12.7% vs. 2.5%, p<0.0001). Risk factors included older age, female gender, low family income, non-U.S. birth, lower parental education, and adverse childhood experiences. In multivariate analyses, racial discrimination was significantly associated with increased chronic pain prevalence (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.5-5.3, p<0.0001). Asian Americans reported lower overall rates of chronic pain relative to other racial and ethnic groups within the United States. Exposure to racial and ethnic discrimination was associated with a significantly increased probability of reporting chronic pain among Asian Americans. PERSPECTIVES: This work addresses gaps in the literature related to the prevalence of pediatric chronic pain in a national sample of Asian American children. It also examines the unique contribution of race and ethnic discrimination to chronic pain among Asian American children.

Few studies have analyzed the characteristics of chronic pain and its functional interference. This study aims to measure the prevalence of pain and assess the intensity, location, treatments used and functional interference in the daily living of patients with chronic pain undergoing hemodialysis treatments in Morocco.

This research has a descriptive cross-sectional design METHODS: A multicenter study was performed in four public hemodialysis centers in Morocco's northern region including 174 patients undergoing hemodialysis. Sociodemographic, chronic pain and interference were evaluated through a structured questionnaire, the Visual Analog Scale and the Brief Pain Inventory.

Descriptive statistics were applied to data analysis. The prevalence of chronic pain was 56.7%, severe in 50.6% of cases and 81.6% experienced continuous pain. The most common pain locations among patients undergoing hemodialysis were the lower limbs 58.6%, back 41.4% and hips 36.4%. Therefore, a high prevalence of severe functional interference of pain has been found in walking 60.34%, general activities 52.87% and work 48.85%. Additionally, analgesics were used by 73.6% of patients, with 46.1% of instances involving frequent use and relief for 32.81%.

Chronic pain is prevalent, undertreated and localized in the lower limbs, back and hips, leading to severe interference with functional activities.

This evidence makes professionals aware of their patient's pain and its impact, and consequently, their assessment must be conducted in a primordial and regular manner to improve management. Pain management can be based on pharmacological approaches such as opioids as well as nonpharmacological approaches.

Research shows that medical students are graduating with inadequate teaching on diverse patients and insufficient experience of working with diverse patient groups. The inclusion of patients from diverse groups is necessary in healthcare teaching to ensure medical students are adequately prepared for practice. In this study, we explored the perspectives of General Practitioner (GP) tutors on the recruitment of diverse volunteer patients for medical student primary clinical care placements. In particular, we focused on the current representation of diverse volunteer patients, barriers affecting their inclusion and recommendations to help with this.

Focus groups were carried out with GP tutors involved in the recruitment of volunteer patients from one region in the United Kingdom. Transcripts were analysed using Thematic Analysis.

Participants acknowledged the importance of ensuring that medical students have clinical experience in assessing and managing patients from diverse populations, but most did not actively think about the diversity of the patients they were recruiting. Instead, recruitment was driven by the need to cover the curriculum and teaching requirements. To ensure that students' learning was not diminished and recognising time was a significant factor, participants automatically discounted certain patients from being a volunteer patient. They acknowledged that they did not feel comfortable identifying patients based on their demographics and were more likely to invite patients who had been volunteer patients before.

Suggested solutions to overcome the factors affecting the recruitment of diverse patients are presented. Patient populations will continue to become more diverse, and therefore, medical schools must prepare their students for this and encourage GP tutors to make a conscious effort to recruit diverse patient volunteers for teaching.

Pain is an unpleasant and unavoidable part of the human experience, but the prevalence and impact of pain disproportionately impacts marginalized groups, including transgender and gender-diverse people. While there are many bases of pain, psychosocial variables, including cognitions (e.g., outcome and interpersonal expectations, social gender norms), affect (e.g., negative affectivity, emotional distress), and social factors (e.g., social exclusion) may be particularly relevant in the pain experiences of transgender individuals. The coalescence of these factors is discussed in this review, where authors specifically consider how these cognitive, affective, and social factors may contribute to pain disparities seen in transgender individuals. Patient-centered communication is presented as a potential avenue to directly mitigate the effect of these psychosocial variables on pain in transgender individuals by reducing feelings of social exclusion transgender patients may experience in the medical office, and the authors call for additional experimental research and the development of educational interventions for providers.

This paper explores how pain is conceptualized, defined, expressed and managed among Palestinians with advanced cancer living in the Israeli occupied West Bank of the river Jordan.

Utilizing qualitative methodology, the study was conducted in three Palestinian governmental hospitals located in the north, center and south of the West Bank. We used a socio-cultural lens which frees our writing from subjugation, and exposes further the need to continue decolonizing knowledge production. Verbatim colloquial Palestinian Arabic quotes obtained from research participants were extracted and translated to English with a focus on meaning rather than semantics, as meaning is deeply embedded in culture. These quotes were then integrated into the text to illustrate the identified themes and subthemes accompanied by selected information about the participant including age, gender, residence, and cancer diagnosis to provide context. We have included in the text the Arabic colloquial terms written in both Arabic and English.

Two dimensions of pain were reported: physical pain due to the effects of the cancer and its treatment, and existential pain, which we defined as the sum total of the human experience of having and dealing with cancer physically, psychologically, socially, economically and spiritually. In addition to treatment with cancer medications, participants emphasized that social support and solidarity from families, friends, neighbors and their community play an important role in helping them come to terms with their illness and pain, and standing by them during difficult times.

This social support/social solidarity, is generally regarded as a wajib (واجب), or obligation and duty people must fulfill and cannot be neglected. Dependence on God (Allah) and Tawwakul, that is, the reliance on Allah, which they drew upon for support and endurance, was also emphasized. The notion of Tawwakul and reliance on Allah is of particular importance in assisting patients and their families in coming to terms with their sickness and pain, and in confronting death, as revealed by our participants. However, the incorrect interpretation of Tawwakul as fatalism is rooted in colonial and racial perspectives, and needs to be addressed and undone in the process of decolonizing knowledge production.

Measures of pain sensitivity have potential relevance for patient care. We previously identified a subgroup of people at risk for ongoing pain characterized by genetic AND psychological factors. Here, we report planned secondary analyses examining the effect of personalized interventions on pain sensitivity outcomes.

Two hundred and sixty-one healthy individuals with the COMT SNP rs6269 AA genotype and Pain Catastrophizing Scale scores of 5 or higher received exercise-induced muscle injury, followed by a randomly assigned treatment: (1) general education and placebo; (2) personalized psychological intervention and placebo; (3) general education and propranolol; or (4) personalized psychological intervention and propranolol. Pain sensitivity outcomes (pressure pain thresholds (PPT), suprathreshold heat rating, temporal summation, and conditioned pain modulation efficiency) were compared using a mixed effect model to examine difference among groups, adjusted for age, sex and race.

No main effects for group assignment were noted (p > 0.05 for all), when considered as 4 groups or 2 collapsed groups (ie propranolol vs placebo or personalized psychologic vs general education). Interaction terms were then entered into our models in an exploratory fashion. For PPT outcomes interactions were noted for, sex and time, and race and time (p<0.015). For temporal summation outcomes, interactions were noted for sex and group and race and group (p < 0.015).

Results indicated no statistically reliable changes in pain sensitivity when considering matched vs unmatched treatment groups. Caution is needed in this interpretation given that the trial was not powered to specifically identify these differences. Exploratory analysis of interactions among ethnic/racial and gender identities by treatment, however, showed the potential for differential effects for specific pain sensitivity measures. Significant interactions across modalities suggest analysis of higher order interactions/intersectionality could be of great interest for testing efficacy of personalized interventions in future trials.

Chronic pain is a prevalent comorbidity among those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Chronic pain can be divided into specific pain (i.e., involving a single body system) and complex pain (i.e., involving multiple body systems). We explored sociodemographic and psychiatric differences between pain groups among those with PTSD.

Data came from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC-III, N = 36,309). Pain groups were determined through health professional confirmed self-report of chronic pain conditions within three body systems (musculoskeletal, nerve or digestive conditions). Psychiatric conditions were identified with the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule for DSM-5; suicide attempts were assessed via self-report.

Among our PTSD sub-sample (n = 1779; 4.7%), 53.9% had no conditions, 25.6% endorsed specific pain, and 19.1% endorsed complex pain. Multinomial logistic regressions revealed increased odds of certain sociodemographic correlates (e.g., older age) common to both pain groups when compared to those with PTSD alone, as well as decreased odds (e.g., being non-White) unique to those with complex pain. Multivariable logistic regressions revealed both specific pain and complex pain were associated with increased odds of any lifetime personality disorder relative to the no pain group (AOR = 1.56 and 2.38, respectively). Complex pain was uniquely associated with increased odds of any past-year anxiety disorder, past-year tobacco use disorder, and lifetime suicide attempts (AOR range = 1.46-1.69) relative to PTSD alone.

Findings indicate that those with PTSD and pain conditions impacting multiple body systems represent a particularly vulnerable group.

Pain is common among individuals with high Body Mass Index (BMI). This study investigated weight discrimination as a mediator of the longitudinal relationship between BMI and the presence of moderate/severe pain among adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort. ELSA is a longitudinal study of middle-aged and older adults living in England. Data were taken from three consecutive waves. Demographics, BMI, and self-reported pain were collected at wave 4 (2008-2009), perceived weight discrimination at wave 5 (2010-2011,) and pain (no/mild vs moderate/severe) at wave 6 (2012-2013). Generalized linear models estimated the association of BMI at wave 4 (assessed continuously and dichotomized to obesity status BMI ≥30) with pain at wave 6, and weight discrimination at wave 5 as a mediator of this relationship. Models were adjusted for demographics and baseline pain. Complete data were available for n=5362 individuals. Continuous BMI was associated with future moderate/severe pain (b=1.05 SE=0.01, p<.01) and weight discrimination partially mediated this effect (b=1.00 SE=0.002, p=.05). Obesity status was also significant (b=1.43 SE=0.11, p<.01) but weight discrimination did not mediate the relationship (p=.13). Post hoc analyses were conducted among individuals with no/mild pain at baseline (n=3979.) BMI and obesity status were both associated with pain and weight discrimination mediated both pathways (ps<.05.) Weight discrimination partially mediated the relationship between BMI and future moderate/severe pain, especially among individuals with no/mild pain initially. Weight discrimination may be an overlooked contributor to the transition to more severe pain among individuals of higher body weight. PERSPECTIVE: Weight discrimination may be an overlooked contributor to pain among individuals of higher body weight, particularly transition from lower to higher impact states. Post hoc analyses indicate the effect may be specific, as other forms of discrimination did not mediate the relationship.

Codeine is a natural opiate extracted from opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) and used to alleviate mild to moderate pain. The analgesic effect of this molecule results from its metabolism into morphine which is an agonist of the mu opioid receptor. Morphine's major metabolite morphine-3-glucuronide induces both thermal and mechanical hypersensitivies while codeine-6-glucuronide has been proposed to be antinociceptive. However, sex differences in codeine antinociceptive effect and pharmacokinetics were barely studied. To this purpose, we injected male and female mice with codeine (2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) and thermal hypersensitivity was assessed 30 min after injection using the Tail Immersion Test. Moreover, both peripheral and central metabolism of codeine were evaluated respectively in the blood or pain-related brain structures in the central nervous system. The amounts of codeine and its metabolites were quantified using the isotopic dilution method by liquid chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer. Our results show that codeine induces a greater antinociceptive effect in males than females mice independently of the estrous cycle. Moreover, major sex differences were found in the peripheral metabolism of this molecule, with higher amounts of pronociceptive morphine-3-glucuronide and less antinociceptive codeine-6-glucuronide in females than in males. Concerning the central metabolism of codeine, we did not find significant sex differences in pain-related brain structures. Collectively, these findings support a greater codeine antinociceptive effect in males than females in mice. These sex differences could be influenced by a higher peripheral metabolism of this molecule in female mice rather than central metabolism.

Engaging in regular exercise is essential for managing knee osteoarthritis (KOA) symptoms. Despite the established findings, sustained exercise adoption remains a challenge for KOA patients, with notable disparities among Hispanic patients, warranting a need to identify determinants that explain the racial discrepancy in exercise participation. The purpose of this study was to employ a biopsychosocial model to identify determinants of exercise participation and highlight racial disparities. Patients (n = 163) from a university hospital clinic were medically examined to be considered eligible for the study based on radiographs. Eligible participants completed validated survey measures that assessed exercise participation over the past two weeks, along with measures from biological, psychological and social domains to predict future intention exercise. Structural equation modelling tested hypothesized the paths. Past exercise behavior predicted attitudes, self-efficacy, and future exercise intentions. Pain catastrophizing correlated with exercise participation, but the competing effects of physician and (personal) social support on exercise nullified the significance of pain catastrophizing to exercise participation. Significant ethnicity comparisons found non-Hispanic white patients to have higher education, income, lower BMI, stronger scores on attitudes and self-efficacy, and greater exercise participation time. Non-significant effects between the two ethnicities include intention, physician support, and social support. Designing an intervention that helps foster support from the patient's physician and proximal friends/family members can play a vital role in exercise participation for both ethnicities. Additional focus on developing attitudes and self-efficacy among Hispanics can address some disparities. Further notes on promoting exercise equity using a biopsychosocial approach are provided.

Autistic adolescents are at greater risk of chronic pain, but it is unclear how autistic features may relate to individual aspects of chronic pain. As autism traits exist in the general population as well, it is important to know if autistic traits could impact how effective chronic pain management is for adolescents. Here we examined autistic traits in 112 patients (12-18yrs) recruited from a UK national specialist adolescent pain rehabilitation programme. Participants completed screening questionnaires for autistic traits upon entry to the programme, as well as clinically recognised pain measures before and after the 3-week treatment program. Autistic traits predicted greater psychological challenges at treatment onset. Critically, autistic traits were not related to the magnitude of improvement in pain measures during the pain management program. Our study suggests that adolescents with greater autistic traits may benefit from existing pain rehabilitation programs at similar rates to their peers. Additionally, these data suggest no reason for therapeutic pessimism for autistic pain patients. We do however acknowledge that these data may differ in populations with an autistic diagnosis, and that barriers may still exist for autistic people in treatment for pain. PERSPECTIVE: Autistic traits were explored in patients undergoing an Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment (IIPT). Higher autistic traits correlated with more pain related psychological difficulties at intake. Autistic traits were not related to the magnitude of improvement following IIPT. Our data therefore suggests that autism should not be a barrier to IIPT. DATA AVAILABILITY: Data is held in the PAIRED Pain Rehabilitation Database: Bath and Bristol, individual data used in the current analyses are therefore not available.

Objective: To understand the lived experiences and needs of college students with chronic pain living in the US and the UK. Participants: College students (n = 115), mean age 21.4 years (SD = 1.73). Methods: As part of a larger survey, students were asked: (1) How, if at all, living with pain impacted their college experience; (2) Support they did/did not receive from students, faculty, staff, and college services; (3) What support would be most helpful to them as a college student living with pain. Qualitative data were analyzed using an immersion/crystallization approach. Results: Four main themes were identified: (1) Stress resulting from the rigid demands of academic life can exacerbate pain; (2) Lack of communication leaves many students feeling isolated; (3) Frustration at lack of faculty support; and (4) Need for chronic pain to be recognized. Conclusions: The findings suggest areas for intervention to support college students living with pain during this defining period.

Chronic musculoskeletal pain often co-occurs with Parkinson's disease (PD); however, whether individuals with chronic pain have a higher risk of developing PD is unclear.

To investigate the associations between chronic pain and incident risk of three neurodegenerative parkinsonism categories including PD, multiple system atrophy (MSA), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

This study included 355,890 participants (mean [standard deviation] age, 56.51 [8.07] years, 48.40% male) who did not have parkinsonism at baseline from a population-based cohort. Musculoskeletal pain in the hip, neck/shoulder, back, knee, or "all over the body" was assessed. Chronic pain was defined if pain lasted ≥3 months. Participants were categorized into four groups: no chronic pain, having one or two, three or four sites, and pain "all over the body." The diagnosis of PD, MSA, and PSP used self-reports, hospital records, and death registries. Multivariable-adjusted Cox regression was performed for the analyses.

Over a median follow-up of 13.0 years, 2044 participants developed PD, 77 participants developed MSA, and 126 participants developed PSP. In multivariable analyses, there was a dose-response relationship between number of chronic pain sites and incident risk of PD (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.23). Participants with one or two pain sites and three or four pain sites had an 11% and 49% increased risk of developing PD, respectively. There were no associations between chronic pain and MSA or PSP.

Chronic musculoskeletal pain was independently associated with PD, suggesting that chronic pain could be used to identify individuals at risk of developing PD. © 2024 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Abdominal pain can be an overlooked symptom in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with abdominal pain in active and quiescent UC.

Three study cohorts of adult UC patients were used. Cross-sectional cohorts I and II included 130 (46 active) and 288 (156 active) patients. Longitudinal cohort III included 83 patients with active disease at diagnosis that reached deep remission during follow-up. The Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale was used to assess abdominal pain and other validated questionnaires to assess psychological distress, fatigue and quality of life (QoL).

In the two cross-sectional cohorts, 63% and 58% of the active vs. 54% and 33% of the quiescent UC patients reported abdominal pain (both p ≤ 0.02). In the longitudinal cohort, 71% had abdominal pain at diagnosis vs. 46% when in remission (p < 0.001). In multivariable models, symptoms of anxiety were associated with higher abdominal pain levels in both cross-sectional cohorts (OR 1.75 [IQR 1.11-2.76] and OR 1.99 [1.45-2.73]), whereas in cohort II, active disease (OR 2.68 [1.61-4.45]) and female sex (OR 2.03 [1.21-3.41]) were also associated with pain. QoL was negatively correlated with higher levels of abdominal pain, both in active and quiescent disease.

Abdominal pain in UC is prevalent and associated with lower QoL in both active and quiescent disease. Associated factors are active disease, female sex and psychological symptoms, especially anxiety. We suggest considering a holistic approach when treating UC patients with abdominal pain.

Background: Strong associations have been demonstrated between chronic musculoskeletal pain, pain-related fear-avoidance (FA) of activities of daily living, and functional disability. The Fear Avoidance Components Scale (FACS) is a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure, which was designed to evaluate cognitive, emotional, and behavioural dimensions of FA. Objective: The study aims were to translate the English version of the FACS into Simplified Chinese and then to examine its psychometric properties. Methods: The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the FACS from English to Chinese was performed with standard methodology. A group of 330 subjects with chronic musculoskeletal pain completed the FACS-Chi and additional FA-related PRO measures. The FACS-Chi was then completed a second time, 1 week later. Results: The FACS-Chi showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.920) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.918). A confirmatory factor analysis of the 2-factor model determined in the original English version of FACS revealed an acceptable fit. Strong correlations were found between FACS-Chi scores and other PRO measures of perceived level of disability, pain catastrophizing, and pain-related anxiety (p < 0.001 for all analyses). Conclusions: The FACS-Chi demonstrated good psychometric properties, including excellent test-retest reliability and internal consistency and satisfactory construct validity. The FACS-Chi may be a useful measure of pain-related FA in Chinese-speaking patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Cannabis use among women who experience chronic pain is on the rise in the United States. However, little is known about women's motives and preferences for cannabis administration. The purpose of this study was to characterize cannabis use among women with chronic pain. This study examined self-reported forms of cannabis administration and preferred source of cannabis, frequency and quantity of use, and self-reported side effects, and type, level, and intensity of chronic pain among adult women in the United States. This study also compared women who use cannabis for chronic pain and those who do not across the level of chronic pain, length of chronic pain, and the number of types of chronic pain experienced. Participants showed a significant preference (60%) for using recreational cannabis to treat chronic pain but reported that medical cannabis was more effective. For participants who preferred medical cannabis 24.3% reported daily use, as compared to only 7.8% of recreational cannabis users. Smoking was the most common form of administration (62.1%), followed by edibles (25.3%), vaporizing in any form (7.4%), tinctures and concentrates (3.2%), and topicals (2.1%). Participants reported using 1-6 different forms of cannabis administration. Those who preferred smoking were significantly likely to use all other forms of administration. However, those who preferred alternatives to smoking were significantly likely to use all forms of administration except for smoking. Medical cannabis users preferred to obtain cannabis from a dispensary, while recreational users preferred to obtain cannabis from unlicensed sources. Additionally, participants who used cannabis for chronic pain reported a 74% reduction in past 30-day opioid use. Future research is needed to investigate the health effects associated with single and combined forms of cannabis administration for women with chronic pain. Results can inform educational and intervention programs, treatment development, content regulation of products, policy formation, women's health research, and public health guidelines.

The objective of this study is to estimate the association between physician's age, sex, clinical and communication competencies, and cultural background on benzodiazepines and Z-drugs (BDZ) prescribing to older adults with insomnia.

A cohort of international medical graduates (IMGs) who completed their pre-residency licensure exam in 1998-2004 were linked to all U.S. Medicare patients they provided care to in 2014-2015. Their care records in Parts A, B, and D from all physicians were extracted. The first outpatient visit for insomnia to a study IMG was identified for each patient in that period. The outcome was incident BDZ prescribing by the study physician following the visit. Main exposures were physician age, sex, citizenship at birth, and clinical and communication competency as measured on the licensure exam. The association between physician characteristics and BDZ prescribing, adjusting for physician and patient covariates, was estimated using generalized estimating equations multivariable logistic regression.

We analyzed 28 018 patients seen by 4069 unique physicians. IMGs born in all other regions of the world were less likely to prescribe BDZs compared to U.S.-born IMGs, with physicians from the United Kingdom being least likely (OR 0.54 [95%CI 0.34-0.85]). Neither physician's clinical competency nor communication ability were associated with BDZ prescribing (OR per 10% increase, respectively: 0.95 [95%CI 0.88-1.02] and 0.98 [95%CI 0.93-1.04]). Older physicians remain more likely to prescribe BDZ (OR per 5-year increase 1.04 [95%CI 1.00-1.08]).

The associations between cultural background and physician's age on BDZ prescribing highlight the potential targets for remedial solutions to reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications.

Chronic pain services in the UK are required to provide services which meet the diverse needs of patients, but little is known about the access and use of these services by minority ethnic groups.

To assess the available evidence regarding the ethnic profile of adults who access secondary and tertiary chronic pain services in the UK.

A scoping review was conducted (August 2021-October 2021), comprising comprehensive literature searches using Embase, Medline and CINAHL databases and the grey literature. Studies were included if they reported on (i) access to chronic pain services in secondary and/or tertiary care in the UK, (ii) adults and (iii) stated the ethnicity of the involved participants. Studies were included if published between 2004 and 2021, as demographic data during this period would be broadly representative of the UK population, as per the 2021 UK census. A descriptive synthesis of the extracted data was performed.

The search yielded 124 records after duplicates were removed. Following title and abstract screening, 44 full texts were screened, ten of which were included in the review.

This is the first review to explore access to chronic pain services for adults from minority ethnic groups in the UK. Given the limited number of studies that met the inclusion criteria, the review highlights the need for routine collection of ethnicity data using consistent ethnic categories within UK chronic pain services and increased involvement of minority ethnic groups within chronic pain research. Findings should inform future research that aims to improve access to UK chronic pain services for adults from minority ethnic groups.

The risk of cardiovascular disease differs among various ethnic groups, highlighting disparities in cardiovascular health among different populations. While multiple studies from other countries have looked at changes in physiological parameters during autonomic function tests like isometric handgrip and cold pressor tests, no correlational research has been done in Saudi Arabia. This lacuna underscores the importance of examining the relationship between cardiorespiratory parameters in young Saudi Arabian individuals during these tests. This study aimed to determine the correlation between the isometric handgrip and cold pressor tests and physiological parameters in healthy young Saudi Arabian college students. A single-arm interventional study was conducted with a cohort of 65 healthy young adult Saudi college students, including male and female participants. A point estimate was calculated with a 95% confidence level. Physiological parameters were analyzed and compared at rest and during isometric handgrip and cold pressor tests. The study involved participants with an average age of 21.12 ± 1.02, predominantly male students. A significant impact was observed only in respiratory rate (P = 0.007) during the isometric handgrip and cold pressor tests. In contrast, blood pressure parameters and arterial oxygen saturation values showed no statistical significance during both tests. This sheds light on their autonomic responses to physiological stressors and contributes to our understanding of cardiovascular health across diverse populations, guiding future interventions for global improvements in cardiorespiratory outcomes.

Adequate maternity care and appropriate clinical interventions during labour and delivery can reduce adverse perinatal outcomes, but unnecessary interventions may cause harm. While studies have shown that refugees and asylum seekers face important barriers when accessing maternity care, there is a lack of high-quality quantitative data on perinatal health interventions, such as induction of labour or caesarean sections, among refugees and asylum seekers and the findings reported in the literature tend to be inconsistent. Our goal was to examine and synthesise the evidence regarding the rates of intrapartum clinical interventions in women who are refugees and asylum seekers in high-income countries compared to other population groups.

We conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed studies published in English since 2011 that report original quantitative findings regarding intrapartum clinical interventions among refugees and asylum seekers in high-income countries compared to those in non refugee, non asylum seeker populations. We examined reported rates of clinical pain relief, labour induction and augmentation, episiotomies, instrumental deliveries, and caesarean sections.

Twenty-five papers were included in the review. Findings indicate that refugees and asylum seekers were less likely to receive pain relief, with 16 out of 20 data points showing unadjusted ORs ranging from 0.20 (CI: 0.10-0.60) to 0.96 (CI: 0.70-1.32). Similarly, findings indicate lower odds of instrumental delivery among refugees and asylum seekers with 14 of 21 data points showing unadjusted ORs between 0.25 (CI: 0.15-0.39) and 0.78 (CI: 0.47-1.30); the remaining papers report no statistically significant difference between groups. There was no discernable trend in rates of labour induction and episiotomies across studies.

The studies included in this review suggest that asylum seekers and refugees are less likely to receive clinical pain relief and experience instrumental delivery than non-refugee groups in high-income countries. This review strengthens our understanding of the links between immigration status and maternity care, ultimately informing policy and practice to improve perinatal health and the provision of care for all.

Depression and anxiety have a complex association with opioid dependence, though their impact on acute postoperative pain is unclear. The present study investigated the impact of depression and anxiety on acute postoperative pain and opioid requirements following deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction.

Patients receiving DIEP flap breast reconstruction were retrospectively identified from 2019 to 2023. Patients were classified into the psychiatric comorbidity (PC) group based on a history of depression or anxiety diagnoses, or the control group. Pain (0-10 Numerical Rating Scale [NRS]) scores and cumulative inpatient opioid requirements (in morphine milli-equivalents [MMEs]) were compared between groups. Linear regression analysis assessed the association of psychiatric comorbidities with pain outcomes.

In total, 557 patients were included, of which 11.4% reported a psychiatric history. The PC group was younger (50.0 vs. 52.7 years, p = 0.032) and more frequently reported current marijuana use (15.6% vs. 4.3%, p = 0.001) and former smoking (51.6% vs. 24.5%, p < 0.001). The PC group had higher mean (2.5 vs. 2.0, p < 0.001) and maximum pain scores (8.6 vs. 7.8, p = 0.003) than the control group, which corresponded to higher opioid requirements (256 vs. 223 MMEs, p = 0.041). Psychiatric comorbidities were associated with higher average and maximum pain scores (p < 0.01) while current marijuana use was associated with higher opioid requirements (p = 0.033).

Patients with depression or anxiety comorbidities tended to have greater acute postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Marijuana use was also more prevalent, potentially exacerbating pain outcomes, and risk of opioid dependence. These findings will inform patient discussions and targeted interventions to mitigate opioid misuse.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic disease accompanied by debilitating symptoms including pain, stiffness, and limited physical functionality, which have been shown to be associated with pain catastrophizing. Previous studies have revealed racial discrepancies in pain catastrophizing, notably between Hispanics and non-Hispanics while pointing to potential health disparities. Using a conceptual model, this study aimed to investigate racial differences in associations between KOA symptoms with specific pain catastrophizing domains (rumination, magnification, and helplessness). Patients with KOA (n = 253; 147 Hispanics, 106 non-Hispanic Whites) completed a survey that included measures of knee symptoms, pain catastrophizing, and demographic variables. Structural equation modeling revealed that among Hispanics, each pain catastrophizing domain (rumination, magnification, and helplessness) was associated with at least two symptomatic experiences, including pain severity and difficulty in physical function. Specifically, pain severity was associated with (a) rumination: β = 0.48, p < 0.001, (b) magnification: β = 0.31, p = 0.003; and (c) helplessness: β = 0.39, p < 0.001). Additionally, a lower score in physical function was associated with higher magnification (β = 0.26, p = 0.01), and helplessness (β = 0.25, p = 0.01). Among non-Hispanic White patients, pain severity was further associated with two domains of pain catastrophizing, including rumination (β = 0.39, p < 0.001) and helplessness (β = 0.35, p = 0.01). In addition, association pathways for demographic variables revealed that older Hispanics experienced greater challenges with higher pain severity (β = 0.26, p = 0.01) and greater difficulty with physical function (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) while Hispanics females experienced higher pain (β = 0.19, p = 0.03). These findings highlight the importance of designing tailored interventions that consider key demographic factors such as age, and gender, to improve physical function that might alleviate pain catastrophizing among Hispanics with KOA.

Disparities in healthcare based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) remain a public health crisis, especially in perioperative anesthetic management. This study applies a health equity lens to intraoperative pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

This retrospective cohort study included 1404 adult patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between 2017 and 2022 at a single, multi-site, academic healthcare system. The primary outcomes were PONV as well as moderate-to-severe post-operative pain. Secondary outcomes were administration of prophylactic antiemetics, compliance with guideline-recommended antiemetic prophylaxis, and opioid morphine milligram equivalents (MME) administered intraoperatively. Independent variables included patient race and ethnicity, healthcare payor type, and community-level SES (using Area Deprivation Index [ADI]). Multivariable logistic regression models that controlled for relevant covariates were utilized.

The findings showed no significant disparities in experiencing PONV, post-operative pain, or receiving high opioid MME based on race, ethnicity, payor type, and ADI. There were also no differences in the receipt of antiemetics nor compliance with guideline-recommended antiemetic prophylaxis.

Our study did not find racial, ethnic, or SES disparities in intraoperative anesthetic pain management, postoperative pain, nor PONV management. Applying a health equity lens to quality outcomes during the perioperative period is necessary to ensure equitable care among diverse populations.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent endocrine disorder in women, often accompanied by various symptoms including significant pain, such as dysmenorrhea, abdominal, and pelvic pain, which remains underexplored. This retrospective study examines electronic health records (EHR) data to assess the prevalence of pain in women with PCOS. Conducted on May 29, 2024, using data from 120 Health Care Organizations within the TriNetX Global Network, the study involved 76,859,666 women from diverse racial backgrounds. The analysis focused on the prevalence of pain among women with PCOS, both overall and in those prescribed PCOS-related medications. Relative risk ratios (RR) were calculated for future health outcomes and stratified by self-reported race. The study found that 19.21% of women with PCOS experienced pain, with the highest prevalence among Black or African American (32.11%) and White (30.75%) populations. Both the PCOS and PCOS and Pain cohorts exhibited increased RR for various health conditions, with significant differences noted across racial groups for infertility, ovarian cysts, obesity, and respiratory diseases. Additionally, women with PCOS who were treated with PCOS-related medications showed a decrease in pain diagnoses following treatment. In conclusion, this study highlights the critical need to address pain in the diagnosis and management of PCOS due to its significant impact on patient health outcomes.

The objective of this study was to examine the role of pain catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy as possible mediators of race-based differences in pain intensity and to evaluate the possible moderating role of race on the relationship between pain catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy with pain outcomes among persons with chronic spinal pain receiving physical therapy.

This study was a secondary analysis of a cluster-randomized trial. Participants were persons with chronic spinal pain in outpatient physical therapy clinics who consented to complete assessments at baseline and after 2 weeks and 12 weeks. Assessments included pain intensity, physical function, pain catastrophizing, and self-efficacy. Baseline comparisons between Black and non-Hispanic White participants were made. Mediation analyses used a regression-based framework to examine whether baseline pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy mediated the association between race and pain intensity. Moderation analyses used multiple linear regression to evaluate the role of race in the relationship of baseline pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy with 12-week pain intensity outcomes.

A total of 274 participants were included (51 [18.6%] Black and 223 [81.4%] non-Hispanic White; mean age = 51.6 years [standard deviation = 14.9]; 180 [65.7%] female). At baseline, Black participants had higher pain intensity scores (mean difference = 0.80; 95% CI =1.5 to 0.12). Both pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between race and baseline pain intensity. Race moderated the relationships between baseline pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy and 12-week pain intensity scores.

Pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy had differential impacts on pain intensity based on race for both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses among persons receiving physical therapy for chronic spinal pain.

Improved understanding of the differences in pain experience based on factors such as race, ethnicity, cultural background, and experience with the health care system may help reduce disparities in pain management.

Pain is ubiquitous, yet understudied. The objective of this study was to analyze inequities in pain assessment and management for hospitalized older adults focusing on demographic and geriatric-related variables.

This was a retrospective cohort study from January 2013 through September 2021 of all adults 65 years or older on the general medicine service at UCSF Medical Center. Primary exposures included (1) demographic variables including race/ethnicity and limited English proficiency (LEP) status and (2) geriatric-related variables including age, dementia or mild cognitive impairment diagnosis, hearing or visual impairment, end-of-life care, and geriatrics consult involvement. Primary outcomes included (1) adjusted odds of numeric pain assessment versus other assessments and (2) adjusted opioids administered, measured by morphine milligram equivalents (MME).

A total of 15,809 patients were included across 27,857 hospitalizations with 1,378,215 pain assessments, with a mean age of 77.8 years old. Patients were 47.4% White, 26.3% with LEP, 49.6% male, and 50.4% female. Asian (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.70-0.80), Latinx (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.99), and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.64-0.93) patients had lower odds of a numeric assessment, compared with White patients. Patients with LEP (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.66-0.74) had lower odds of a numeric assessment, compared with English-speaking patients. Patients with dementia, hearing impairment, patients 75+, and at end-of-life were all less likely to receive a numeric assessment. Compared with White patients (86 MME, 95% CI 77-96), Asian patients (55 MME, 95% CI 46-65) received fewer opioids. Patients with LEP, dementia, hearing impairment and those 75+ years old also received significantly fewer opioids.

Older, hospitalized, general medicine patients from minoritized groups and with geriatric-related conditions are uniquely vulnerable to inequitable pain assessment and management. These findings raise concerns for pain underassessment and undertreatment.

Pragmatic, randomized, controlled trials hold the potential to directly inform clinical decision making and health policy regarding the treatment of people experiencing pain. Pragmatic trials are designed to replicate or are embedded within routine clinical care and are increasingly valued to bridge the gap between trial research and clinical practice, especially in multidimensional conditions, such as pain and in nonpharmacological intervention research. To maximize the potential of pragmatic trials in pain research, the careful consideration of each methodological decision is required. Trials aligned with routine practice pose several challenges, such as determining and enrolling appropriate study participants, deciding on the appropriate level of flexibility in treatment delivery, integrating information on concomitant treatments and adherence, and choosing comparator conditions and outcome measures. Ensuring data quality in real-world clinical settings is another challenging goal. Furthermore, current trials in the field would benefit from analysis methods that allow for a differentiated understanding of effects across patient subgroups and improved reporting of methods and context, which is required to assess the generalizability of findings. At the same time, a range of novel methodological approaches provide opportunities for enhanced efficiency and relevance of pragmatic trials to stakeholders and clinical decision making. In this study, best-practice considerations for these and other concerns in pragmatic trials of pain treatments are offered and a number of promising solutions discussed. The basis of these recommendations was an Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT) meeting organized by the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks.

Chinese Americans are one of the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups and represent the largest subgroup of the Asian American population in the US and in New York City (NYC) where they number 573,528 in 2021. Despite their numbers, current pain perceptions, expectations, and attitudes of Chinese Americans remains poorly understood, especially as related to postoperative pain.

A better understanding of pain experience among Chinese American patients is needed to inform strategies on improving pain management satisfaction.

A total of 27 Chinese American postoperative patients from a NYC health system were recruited for face-to-face surveys and interviews with a trained bilingual and bicultural Community Health Worker. Questions from the Survey on Disparities in Quality of Healthcare and Kleinman's Explanatory Model of Illness were integrated into the survey and topic guide. Topics of discussion included satisfaction with healthcare and pain management during hospital stay and health beliefs and practices.

More than half of participants experienced language challenges that made it difficult to communicate with healthcare staff. In general, high levels of satisfaction with pain management were reported; however, participants reported feeling less comfortable asking healthcare teams questions. Common themes across interviews included: (1) pain was an expected outcome of the procedure and was thus perceived as tolerable; (2) the wish to not be a burden to others; (3) concerns about side effects of pain medications; and (4) a cultural and language mismatch between healthcare teams and patients on words being used to elicit pain and discomfort.

Our project findings can inform pain management strategies and tools to serve the Chinese American patient population.

Pain is a common complaint among a spectrum of diseases. Although an ideal objective method of pain assessment is lacking, several validated tools are available for use in clinical research and practice. The tool considerations are based upon the parameters to be assessed and factors specific to patient, disease, and availability of instruments. This review classifies and brings the key aspects of currently available pain assessment tools on a single platform to ease the selection process for researchers/practitioners. The tools utilized for pain assessment were collected from articles available in PubMed and Google Scholar databases and classified into the following domains: unidimensional, multi-dimensional, investigation-based, and computerized algorithm-based tools. Their purpose of use and limitations are reviewed. The unidimensional scales are used to describe only the characteristics of pain, like intensity (e.g. numerical rating scale), type (e.g. neuropathic pain questionnaire), or pattern. In contrast, multi-dimensional tools, like Mc Gill Questionnaire, assess not only pain as an individual symptom but also its influence on physical functioning and general well-being. However, certain components like ethnicity, age, cognitive impairment, sedation, and emotion become a limiting factor in selecting the scale. In addition to these scales, a potential role of parameters such as biopotentials/markers has also been shown in pain assessment. Last, artificial intelligence is also being applied in evaluation of pain. Pain measurement is subjective in nature as assessed through questionnaires and observational tools. Currently, multi-dimensional approaches of pain assessment are available, which can lead to precision pain management.

The Oral Health Impact Profile for Temporomandibular Disorders (OHIP-TMDs) is a validated condition-specific outcome measure to help guide decision-making in the management of the condition. There is no Thai version of OHIP-TMDs, and therefore the original English version needs cross-cultural adaptation translation, and validation with a Thai population to reduce the anomalies due to language and cultural differences. This study aimed to develop the Thai-language version of OHIP-TMDs, perform a cross-cultural adaptation to Thailand, and assess its content validity, internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity.

The original English version of OHIP-TMDs was forward and backward translated into Thai language using the International Network for Orofacial Pain and Related Disorders methodology (INfORM) protocol for cross-cultural adaptation. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was performed by 5 orofacial pain (OFP) specialists to establish content validity. The OHIP-TMDs-T was then tested in 2 groups of Thai dental patients including 110 TMD patients and 110 control participants. The internal reliability and test-retest reliability (n = 30) were investigated in the TMD group using Cronbach alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (2-way mixed effect model), respectively. The difference in OHIP-TMDs-T score between the TMD group and control group was investigated for known group validity.

Cronbach alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.942 and 0.797, respectively. The CVI collected from the OFP specialists was 0.92. There was a statistical difference in the OHIP-TMDs-T overall score between the TMD group (95% CI, 40-46) and control group (95% CI, 2.0-3.4) (Z = 9.060, r = 1, P < .001).

The OHIP-TMDs-T is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the quality of life and the impact on oral health in Thai patients with TMD.

Pain recognition for culturally diverse people is complex as pain experience is subjective and influenced by cultural background. We compared the prevalence, intensity, and association of pain with neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) between immigrants and non-immigrants living with dementia in residential aged care homes (RACHs) who were referred to two Dementia Support Australia programs. Immigrant status was defined by the documented country of birth. Pain and NPS were assessed using PainChek® and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, respectively. Subgroup analyses were also completed for English-speaking and non-English-speaking immigrants. A total of 17,637 referrals [immigrants, n = 6340; non-immigrants, n = 11,297] from 2792 RACHs were included. There were no significant differences for the prevalence of pain across all groups. Immigrants were slightly more likely to have moderate pain or severe pain than non-immigrants. Non-English-speaking immigrants had 0.5 points higher total pain scores on average (Cohen's d = 0.10 [0.05, 0.15], p < 0.001) than non-immigrants. Total pain score had a significant effect on total NPS severity scores in all groups. While pain prevalence is similar across groups, higher pain intensities are more common among immigrants living with dementia. Increased care staff awareness, education, and training about the potential effect of culture on pain expression is needed.

Studies have explored the association of particular conditions, or combinations of conditions, and pain among specific populations. However, there is limited information regarding the association of the number of comorbid conditions, as well as other demographic, economic, health, and limitation variables, with pain among adults in the United States. This cross-sectional database study aimed to examine the relationships between number of comorbid conditions (including cancer, arthritis, joint pain, stroke, heart attack, angina, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, other heart diseases, diabetes, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema), demographic, economic, health, and limitation variables with pain among United States adults using 2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data. A multivariable logistic model assessed the association between the number of comorbid conditions (≥6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, versus 0 conditions) and quite a bit/extreme (versus little/moderate) pain, adjusting for demographic, economic, health, and limitation variables. The study found that greater numbers of comorbid conditions were associated with higher odds of quite a bit or extreme pain. In addition, age, education, employment, income, overall health, regular physical activity, and three limitation variables were each associated with pain in the multivariable model. These findings offer insight into the association between number of comorbid conditions and other variables with pain and suggest areas where interventions may be helpful to help improve pain outcomes for United States adults.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the randomized clinical trial studies regarding the effects of Valsalva maneuver on the severity of short peripheral cannula insertion pain and hemodynamic status in adults. A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus databases, Cochrane, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google Scholar Search Engine using keywords extracted from Medical Subject Headings, such as "Valsalva Maneuver," "Valsalva's Maneuver," "Forced Expiratory," "Balloon Inflation," "Pain," "Ache," "Cannulation," "Peripheral Intravenous Cannulation," "Peripheral Catheterization," "Vascular Access," "Venous Cannulation," "Venous Catheterization," and "Catheterization," from the inception to January 1, 2022. Finally, 12 and 11 articles were included in the qualitative and quantitative analysis of this systematic review and meta-analysis, respectively. Overall, pain intensity based on both the Numeric Rating Scale and Visual Analog Scale resulted in a large clinical effect (Effect Size: -1.20, 95% Confidence Interval: -1.69 to -0.71, p < 0.001). A large clinical effect was observed in a separate study of both scales because clinical effect has been determined in studies based on the Numeric Rating Scale (Effect Size: -1.26, 95% Confidence Interval: -1.90 to -0.62, p < 0.001 (and Visual Analog Scale (Effect Size: -1.09, 95% Confidence Interval: -1.98 to -0.20, p = 0.016). Valsalva maneuver significantly increased the mean heart rate (Weighted Mean Difference: 1.90, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.56-2.24, p < 0.001), decreased the mean arterial pressure (Weighted Mean Difference: 0.73, 95% Confidence Interval: -0.13 to 1.60, p = 0.096), and caused a non-significant decrease in anxiety (Weighted Mean Difference: -1.95, 95% Confidence Interval: -5.24 to 1.34, p = 0.25). The results showed that Valsalva maneuver significantly reduced pain intensity. Therefore, it is recommended that nurses use it as a convenient and low-cost non-pharmacological intervention to alleviate the severity of pain in non-cardiac patients. Also, it is suggested to conduct the studies with a strong methodological design and consider its effects on hemodynamic parameters in future investigations.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the Latino paradox and healthy migrant hypotheses by estimating the association between the prevalence of chronic pain, immigration status, and Latino ethnicity.

This cross-sectional study analyzed pooled data from 85,395 adult participants of the 2019-2021 National Health Interview Survey. The dependent variables were any pain and chronic pain in the past 3 months. The independent variables were immigration status (US born, naturalized citizen, non-citizen) and Latino ethnicity.

Chronic pain was prevalent for nearly a quarter of US born non-Latino adults (24%) and non-citizen non-Latino adults had the lowest prevalence at 8%. In multivariable adjusted models, US born non-Latino immigration status and ethnicity was associated with a higher probability of reporting chronic pain in the last 3 months compared to US born Latino adults (-3.0%; 95% CI = -4.4%, -1.6%), naturalized citizen non-Latino adults (-4.7%; 95% CI = -5.9%, -3.4%), naturalized citizen Latino adults (-6.7%; 95% CI = -8.5%, -4.9%), non-citizen non-Latino adults (-3.1%; 95% CI = -4.7%, -1.5%), and non-citizen Latino adults (-8.9%; 95% CI = -10.8%, -7.0%).

US Born non-Latino adults reported the highest prevalence of chronic pain and non-citizen Latino adults reported the lowest prevalence of chronic pain providing support for the Latino paradox and healthy migrant effect hypotheses.

Whilst. pharmacological therapies remain the cornerstone of pain management in chronic pain, factors including the current opioid epidemic have led to non-pharmacological techniques becoming a more attractive proposition. We explored the prevalence of medical device use and their treatment efficacy in non-cancer pain management. A systematic methodology was developed, peer reviewed and published in PROSPERO (CRD42021235384). Key words of medical device, pain management devices, chronic pain, lower back pain, back pain, leg pain and chronic pelvic pain using Science direct, PubMed, Web of Science, PROSPERO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PorQuest and ClinicalTrials.gov. All clinical trials, epidemiology and mixed methods studies that reported the use of medical devices for non-cancer chronic pain management published between the 1st of January 1990 and the 30th of April 2022 were included. 13 studies were included in systematic review, of these 6 were used in the meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis for pain reduction showed that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation combined with instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization treatment and pulsed electromagnetic therapy produced significant treatment on chronic lower back pain patients. Pooled evidence revealed the use of medical device related interventions resulted in 0.7 degree of pain reduction under a 0-10 scale. Significant improvement in disability scores, with a 7.44 degree reduction in disability level compared to a placebo using a 50 score range was also seen. Our analysis has shown that the optimal use of medical devices in a sustainable manner requires further research, needing larger cohort studies, greater gender parity, in a more diverse range of geographical locations.

The objective of this study is to determine demographic and diagnostic distributions of physical pain recorded in clinical notes of a mental health electronic health records database by using natural language processing and examine the overlap in recorded physical pain between primary and secondary care.

The data were extracted from an anonymised version of the electronic health records of a large secondary mental healthcare provider serving a catchment of 1.3 million residents in south London. These included patients under active referral, aged 18+ at the index date of 1 July 2018 and having at least one clinical document (≥30 characters) between 1 July 2017 and 1 July 2019. This cohort was compared with linked primary care records from one of the four local government areas.

The primary outcome of interest was the presence of recorded physical pain within the clinical notes of the patients, not including psychological or metaphorical pain.

A total of 27 211 patients were retrieved. Of these, 52% (14,202) had narrative text containing relevant mentions of physical pain. Older patients (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.19), females (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.49), Asians (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.45) or black (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.40 to 1.59) ethnicities, living in deprived neighbourhoods (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.55 to 1.73) showed higher odds of recorded pain. Patients with severe mental illnesses were found to be less likely to report pain (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.46, p<0.001). 17% of the cohort from secondary care also had records from primary care.

The findings of this study show sociodemographic and diagnostic differences in recorded pain. Specifically, lower documentation across certain groups indicates the need for better screening protocols and training on recognising varied pain presentations. Additionally, targeting improved detection of pain for minority and disadvantaged groups by care providers can promote health equity.

COVID-19 pandemic could bring great impact upon the psychological statuses of post-partum women, but no clear evidence was provided yet as to COVID-19 would also affect their pain profile during post-partum period. We determined if pain and psychological vulnerabilities, obstetric factors, and labor analgesia were associated with sub-acute pain after childbirth (SAPC; ongoing pain related to delivery at post-partum 4 weeks or more) during COVID-19 pandemic.

We included women having a singleton pregnancy of ≥36 gestational weeks. The recruited women were given pre-delivery questionnaires to measure their pain and psychological vulnerabilities. At post-partum 6-10 weeks, an online survey was conducted to collect data on post-partum pain information.

Of the 880 recruited women, 816 completed the post-partum pain survey, with 99 (12.1%) having developed SAPC. Giving birth during COVID-19 pandemic (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.64, 95%CI 1.04 to 2.57), greater pre-delivery central sensitization (aOR 1.02, 95%CI 1.00 to 1.04), greater number of pain relief administered (aOR 1.49, 95%CI 1.18 to 1.89), having had artificial rupture of membrane and oxytocic during labor onset (aOR 3.00, 95%CI 1.66 to 5.40), greater volume of blood loss during delivery (every 100 ml; aOR 1.27, 95%CI 1.11 to 1.44), having had third-degree tear during delivery (aOR 4.40, 95%CI 1.33 to 14.51), and greater infant height (aOR 1.14, 95%CI 1.01 to 1.30) were independently associated with greater risk of SAPC. Having greater general health score was protective against the risk of SAPC (aOR 0.99, 95% CI 0.97 to 0.999) (Area under the curve (AUC) = 0.74).

The generated multivariable association model may help us better understand the shift in pain and psychological aspects of women during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND Breast pain, prevalent among women of reproductive age, varies during menstrual cycles and is influenced by sociodemographic and clinical factors. This study aimed to assess these demographic and clinical variables in women with breast pain, considering the spatial distinctions between urban and rural locations. MATERIAL AND METHODS This retrospective study included 730 women presenting with mastalgia between 2010 and 2023. The study evaluated patient demographics, pain characteristics (eg, breast pain duration, site, quadrant-based localization, and radiation of breast pain), radiologic findings, and the presence of comorbid medical conditions. RESULTS There were 498 patients in the urban group and 232 patients in the rural group. Among the radiologic findings, the rate of mastitis was higher in the rural group (P<0.05). Regarding the localization of breast pain within the quadrants, left breast upper-inner (LUI) quadrant pain was more common in the rural group (P=0.014). Regarding comorbid medical conditions, the prevalence of gastrointestinal system disease was higher in the rural group (P=0.009). Using logistic regression analysis, gastrointestinal disease was determined to be a significant independent risk factor for increased LUI quadrant pain in the rural group (odds ratio [OR]: 3.132, P=0.014), while pre-existing thyroid disease (OR: 2.482, P=0.004), hypertension (OR: 2.534, P=0.006), and radiologic evidence of ductal ectasia (OR: 2.878, P=0.03) were independent risk factors in the urban group. CONCLUSIONS Patient outcomes may be improved by a tailored, population-based approach to mastalgia patients in rural and urban locations focused on their radiologic findings and comorbid medical conditions.

Pain is a complex, subjective experience that can significantly impact quality of life, particularly in aging individuals, by adversely affecting physical and emotional well-being. Whereas acute pain usually serves a protective function, chronic pain is a persistent pathological condition that contributes to functional deficits, cognitive decline, and emotional disturbances in the elderly. Despite substantial progress that has been made in characterizing age-related changes in pain, complete mechanistic details of pain processing mechanisms in the aging patient remain unknown. Pain is particularly under-recognized and under-managed in the elderly, especially among patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (ADRD), and other age-related conditions. Furthermore, difficulties in assessing pain in patients with AD/ADRD and other age-related conditions may contribute to the familial caregiver burden. The purpose of this article is to discuss the mechanisms and risk factors for chronic pain development and persistence, with a particular focus on age-related changes. Our article also highlights the importance of caregivers working with aging chronic pain patients, and emphasizes the urgent need for increased legislative awareness and improved pain management in these populations to substantially alleviate caregiver burden.

To examine the prevalence of pain catastrophising and identify whether it impacts on the timing of hospital admission when in labour.

A longitudinal cohort study. Nulliparous women, experiencing an uncomplicated pregnancy in England, were recruited between 25 and 33 weeks gestation. Participants completed two online questionnaires, (1) on recruitment, including the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire (WDEQ-A) (2) at three weeks postnatal.

A total of 389 eligible participants entered the study. The percentage of women who were pain catastrophisers (PCS ≥ 20) was 28.1 %, while 7.6 % had a high pain catastrophising score (PCS ≥ 30). There was no association between pain catastrophising and the timing of hospital admission. The percentage of women reporting fear of childbirth (WDEQ-A score of ≥ 85) was 10.6 %. Fear of childbirth was highly associated with PCS scores (p <.001) at both the lower (≥20) and higher (≥30) thresholds.

Although not statistically significant, there was a tendency for women who pain catastrophise to present to hospital in the latent phase. The highly significant association between PCS and WDEQ-A scores has implications for the identification of these women and suggests that the PCS can be used as a screening tool to identify those women who have heightened fear around pain and who may also go on to develop clinically relevant fear of childbirth. Further studies are needed to confirm the acceptability of the PCS as a screening tool with women.