Summary: Adults of middle and older age who experience chronic pain often shows a worsening of the symptoms of depression up to eight years before the start of pain. A large -scale study revealed that depressive symptoms and loneliness increased well before the start of pain, suggesting that mental health can play a causal role in subsequent physical discomfort.
On the other hand, painless adults showed relatively stable emotional well-being during the same period. These results highlight the importance of early mental health and social support to prevent or delay chronic pain, especially in vulnerable populations with fewer resources.
Key facts:
- Long -term link: Depression and loneliness have worsened years before the start of pain in adults over 50.
- Unequal impact: The trend was the strongest in people with lower income and levels of education.
- Prevention potential: Early mental health and social interventions could reduce or delay pain.
Source: UCL
Adults of middle and older age who experience pain are more likely to have aggravated symptoms of depression up to eight years before the start of pain, according to a new study by researchers from UCL (University College London).
The study, published in the journal Hatchingsuggests that among this age group, treatment of depression could help prevent or reduce the pain and subsequent pain.
The researchers compared the survey data of 3,668 adults over 50 who have often felt moderate to severe pain with a paired group of the same number which did not do so.
In the pain group, they found that depressive symptoms worsened quickly during the eight years preceding the pain, culminated at the start of the pain and remained high in the years that followed, while in the non -bread group, the depressive symptoms were less serious, less prevailing and relatively constant.
The researchers found a trend similar to loneliness, which increased both in previous years and years after the start of pain but remained weak and relatively constant for those of the non -bread group.
Although the cause of pain was not identified, most participants said they had pain in the back, knee, hip or foot.
The main author, Dr. Mikaela Bloomberg (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health), said: “Pain and depression are known to be linked, to each exacerbating the other. But we do not know the moment of these related conditions.
“Our study shows that depressive symptoms and loneliness aggravate well before the start of pain. This is important because it suggests the potential for early mental health and social support to reduce or delay subsequent pain.
“Factors such as depression and loneliness can contribute to pain through several mechanisms. By inducing stress, they can increase inflammation, which can cause pain.
“They can also increase pain sensitivity by changing immune responses and deregulating our autonomous nervous system, the network of nerves that control unconscious processes such as the” flight or combat “response.
“Our results highlight the importance of approaching pain not only from a biological perspective. Mental health interventions can also be important. ”
The study used data covering 21 years from the English longitudinal study of aging (ELSA), in which a national representative population sample in England responds to a wide range of questions every two years.
The research team found that the sharp increase in depressive symptoms in participants who felt pain was greater in people with less education and wealth.
This is probably in part, the researchers said because these people had fewer resources to support mental health and pain management.
The team said this observation indicated the need to prioritize vulnerable populations with fewer socio-economic resources with accessible mental health and community support programs.
The researchers also studied if there was a link between social isolation and the experiences of pain, but, unlike loneliness, found little difference in social isolation between pain and non -bread groups.
While loneliness is a subjective feeling of lacking social ties, social isolation indicates an objective lack of contact with friends and family.
The team suggested that the quality of relationships, rather than the quantity of relationships or levels of social interaction, can have an importance in terms of attenuation against pain and depression.
Three -quarters of the participants in the study of the pain group reported suffering from pain in the back, knee, hip or foot. Among the others, 1.9% reported pain everywhere, 0.5% reported oral or dental pain and 20.7% reported pain elsewhere.
Among the limits of the study, the research team noted that the participants were extremely white, reflecting the population of England in this age group. Future research, they have said, should determine whether the results are similar for younger groups and those with more racial and ethnic diversity.
They warned that survey data did not distinguish between pain and chronic pain. However, they had consistent results when they limited the analysis to participants who reported pain in successive surveys two years apart, suggesting the results applied to chronic pain.
The team has been adjusted for a wide range of factors that may have biased results – notably the sex of participants, age, year of birth, education, wealth, long -term health conditions, level of physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking status.
Funding: The researchers received funding from the Bird Fund Oliver from the Nuffield and Versus Arthritis Foundation. The English longitudinal study of aging is funded by the National Institute on Agging and by a consortium of British government services coordinated by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
About this new pain in pain and depression
Author: Mark Greaves
Source: UCL
Contact: Mark Greaves – UCL
Picture: The image is credited with Neuroscience News
Original search: Open access.
“Trajectaries of loneliness, social isolation and depressive symptoms before and after the start of pain in adults of middle and older age” by Mikaela Bloomberg et al. Hatching
Abstract
Trajectaries of loneliness, social isolation and depressive symptoms before and after the start of pain in adults of middle age and older
Background
Chronic pain is associated with poor psychosocial well-being; The way in which loneliness, social isolation and depressive symptoms evolve leading and according to the beginning of the pain is not clear. We examined the trajectories of these results before and after the start of the pain.
Methods
We have analyzed the data of the participants aged ≥ 50 years from the longitudinal English study of aging (ELSA). Data collection started in 2002 (Wave 1) and was repeated at the same time as 2019 (Vague 9); The wave 10 took place in 2021/23. Participants who had data of at least 2 waves were included. Participants reporting pain between 2002 and 2023 (“pain group”) were paired with an equivalent number without pain (“group without bread”; n = 7336 total).
The psychosocial results were also evaluated at each wave: loneliness using the three-element sub-scheme of the revised UCLA loneliness; Social isolation using a score ranging from 0 to 5, with a higher score indicating more serious social isolation; and depression using the depression scale of epidemiological studies at 8 elements.
Linear mixed models in pieces have been used to produce trajectories of loneliness, social isolation and scores of depressive symptoms before and after the start of pain and during the period of comparable time in the group without bread. Subgroup analyzes examined how the results differ in age, sex, education and wealth.
Results
Loneliness and depressive symptoms were more serious for the pain group than the group without bread before the start of the pain (for example, difference (pain-no-shower) eight years before the start of the pain = 0.19 points, 95% confidence interval = 0.11–0.28 for loneliness; difference = 0.14, 0.06–0.22 for depressive symptoms). For loneliness, this difference increased consistently during the study period (for example, difference = 0.33, 0.26–0.40 eight years after the start of pain).
For depressive symptoms, the difference increased sharply to 0.58 (0.52–0.65) at the start of the pain and remained stable thereafter. The differences in depressive symptoms were the most pronounced in less educated and less rich participants. There were negligible differences between pain and bread -free groups for social isolation.
Interpretation
Loneliness and depressive symptoms have gradually increased years before the start of pain. A holistic approach to pain is necessary, incorporating early psychosocial interventions and targeted strategies for vulnerable populations.
Funding
Foundation Nuffield Oliver Bird Fund, against Arthritis.
