Abstract
Objective. The current study attempted to identify and characterize distinct CP subgroups based on their level of dispositional personality traits. The secondary objective was to compare the difference among the subgroups in mood, coping, and disability. Methods. Individuals with chronic pain were assessed for demographic, psychosocial, and personality measures. A two-step cluster analysis was conducted in order to identify distinct subgroups of patients based on their level of personality traits. Differences in clinical outcomes were compared using the multivariate analysis of variance based on cluster membership. Results. In 229 participants, three clusters were formed. No significant difference was seen among the clusters on patient demographic factors including age, sex, relationship status, duration of pain, and pain intensity. Those with high levels of dispositional personality traits had greater levels of mood impairment compared to the other two groups (p < 0.05). Significant difference in disability was seen between the subgroups. Conclusions. The study identified a high risk group of CP individuals whose level of personality traits significantly correlated with impaired mood and coping. Use of pharmacological treatment alone may not be successful in improving clinical outcomes among these individuals. Instead, a more comprehensive treatment involving psychological treatments may be important in managing the personality traits that interfere with recovery.
Highlights
Chronic pain is a significant problem for many individuals as it interferes with one’s activities of daily living due to its impact on exercise, sleep, relationships with others, and independence [1]
Underlying diseases such as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, migraine headaches, and cancer are all common causes of chronic pain [3]; musculoskeletal damage is the major causative factor with the highest prevalence of chronic pain [3]
Chronic pain differs from acute pain in that the latter typically lasts days to weeks while the former often lasts months to years [6]
Summary
Chronic pain is a significant problem for many individuals as it interferes with one’s activities of daily living due to its impact on exercise, sleep, relationships with others, and independence [1]. It has a direct societal impact due to the high costs to the health care system; one report estimates the annual cost of prescription medications alone to be approximately $17.8 billion in the United States [2]. Many individuals with acute pain recover within a month of their pain onset, but for the remaining subset of individuals who experience chronic unrelenting pain, they may be acutely resistant to recovery despite medical intervention
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