Abstract
ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE To examine and map the consequences of chronic pain in adulthood.METHOD Documents addressing the impact of chronic pain on the psychological and social spheres of people suffering from chronic pain, published in Spanish and English between 2013 and 2018, were included. Those who addressed pharmacological treatments, chronic pain resulting from surgical interventions or who did not have access to the full text were excluded. Finally, 28 documents from the 485 reviewed were includedRESULTS Studies show that pain is related to high rates of limitation in daily activities, sleep disorders and anxiety-depression spectrum disorders. People in pain have more problems to get the workday done and to maintain social relationships. Chronic pain is also associated with worse family functioning.CONCLUSIONS This review shows that limitations in the ability to perform activities of daily living, sleep, psychological health, social and work resources and family functioning are lines of interest in published articles. However, knowledge gaps are detected in areas such as the influence of having suffered pain in childhood or adolescence, the consequences of non-fulfillment of working hours and gender inequalities.
Highlights
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that acts as a sign of biological alertness in the face of real or potential tissue damage[1]
Chronic pain is associated with worse family functioning
This review shows that limitations in the ability to perform activities of daily living, sleep, psychological health, social and work resources and family functioning are lines of interest in published articles
Summary
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that acts as a sign of biological alertness in the face of real or potential tissue damage[1]. It can be classified according to etiology, anatomical location or duration[2] According to the latter, chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) persists continuously or intermittently for a period of more than three months and is not associated with cancer processes[3]. When pain persists for long periods of time, it loses its protective purpose[7] and becomes the result of a complex process in which biological, psychological and sociocultural[8] factors interact with each other[9] Several international organizations, such as the European Pain Federation or the International Association for the Study of Pain, consider that a change of perspective in the assessment and treatment of pain is necessary, being addressed as an entity in itself[10], in which the family, social and cultural context that the person lives is considered[11]
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