Life events stress and chronic pain

Abstract

Stress in life has been found to play a role in triggering, maintaining and exacerbating chronic pain, yet, direct empirical evidence of the mechanism of such a role is limited. In the present study 120 non-selected chronic pain patients and an equal number of matched healthy normals were investigated with regard to life events stress. The investigation revealed that although, patients and controls did not differ in terms of number of events experienced during the last 1 year, however, patients reported signifi cantly higher frequency of occurrence on a distinctive set of events belonging to personal, interpersonal and familial life and events related to change in eating and sleeping habits. Our results emphasize the importance of studying the life events beyond the simple count of number of event occurrence but to explore the specifi c events those cluster around pain disorders.

Perceived Stress and Life Stressors in Adults with and without Fibromyalgia

“…Employment issues while working with chronic pain provided more life stress for those with FM compared to healthy controls in terms of trouble with bosses and/or major changes in working hours/conditions. This has also been reported elsewhere [ 25 ]. Moreover, Palstam and Mannerkorpi [ 44 ] conducted a systematic review of both quantitative and qualitative studies on employment in those with FM and found that certain working conditions contributed to higher rates of disability in this group.…”

“…Despite small numbers, certain environmental factors were particularly stressful for individuals with FM in our study (changes in eating habits, declines in sleep quality, the death of a close friend, employment issues), consistent with prior research in individuals with chronic pain. For example, diet and eating behaviors were reported as stressful events for FM individuals in our study, in concert with [ 25 , 32 ]. Seib and colleagues [ 32 ] also found that sleep disturbances were related to increased stress, more depression, and lower quality of life in those with chronic pain; see also [ 25 ].…”

“…For example, diet and eating behaviors were reported as stressful events for FM individuals in our study, in concert with [ 25 , 32 ]. Seib and colleagues [ 32 ] also found that sleep disturbances were related to increased stress, more depression, and lower quality of life in those with chronic pain; see also [ 25 ].…”

“…Those who had support regarding their condition from management as well as colleagues fared better. In summary, it has been suggested that those with chronic pain demonstrate clusters of life stressors consisting of “bereavement, financial, familial, and self- and job-related stressors” [ 25 ].…”

“…Past research also suggests that those with chronic pain may experience life stressors not found in healthier individuals. For example, Ghosh and Sharma [ 25 ] reported that those with chronic pain listed life events relating to changes in eating and sleeping habits as significant stressors. Other studies report more stressful issues related to employment for those with chronic pain [ 26 ].…”