Paksoy Nüket ERBAYDAR, Nesrin ÇİLİNGİROĞLU

Chronic pain and depression: A descriptive survey among adult primary health care centre patients

Knowledge of chronic pain and its relationship to depression among primary health care patients in Turkey is inadequate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of chronic pain and its relationship to depression. Materials and methods: In this descriptive study, data was collected with a questionnaire based on sociodemographic and pain-related characteristics, which was administered to a study population (n = 259) of primary care patients, 18-64 years old. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (min-max = 0-10) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (min-max = 0-63) were used for the assessment of pain severity and depression. Results: Of the participants, 50.6% complained of chronic pain and 48.8% had only one type of chronic pain. According to the VAS, 64.9% of patients’ chronic pain severity scores were between 4 and 8. Among those without chronic pain, 24.2% got a score equal to 17 or higher on the BDI (increased risk for depression), as compared with 38.3% of the patients who had chronic pain complaints (P = 0.015). Conclusion: This study is one of the few that have investigated chronic pain and considered it as a serious health problem among primary health care patients in Turkey. Physicians’ attention should be drawn to the effects of chronic pain, causing mental health disability, within the health system of Turkey.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Key words: Chronic pain, Visual Analogue Scale, depression, Beck Depression Inventory, primary health care

Chronic pain and depression: A descriptive survey among adult primary health care centre patients

Keywords:

Key words: Chronic pain, Visual Analogue Scale, depression, Beck Depression Inventory, primary health care,

PDF

___

Harstall C, Ospina M. How prevalent is chronic pain? Pain Clinical Update 2003; 11: 1-4. 2. Merskey H, Bogduk N. Classification of chronic pain. Second Edition, IASP Task Force on Taxonomy, IASP Press, Seattle, 1994; 209-214.
Twycross R. Pain relief in advanced cancer. Churchill Livingstone: London, 1994: 240, 288, 325, 353, 409-16.
Wilson KG, Mikail SF, D’Eon JL, Minns JE. Alternative diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder in patients with chronic pain. Pain 2001; 91: 227-34.
Magni G, Moreschi C, Rigatti-Luchini S, Merskey H. Prospective study on the relationship between depressive symptoms and chronic musculoskeletal pain. Pain 1994; 56: 289-97.
Hisli N. Beck Depresyon Envanterinin geçerliliği üzerine bir çalışma. Psikoloji Dergisi 1988; 6: 118-122.
Arslantaş D, Metintaş S, Ünsal A, Kalyoncu C, Işıklı B. Eskişehir kırsal alan erişkinlerinde bel ağrısı sıklığı. 8. Halk Sağlığı Günleri Bildiri Özetleri Kitabı. Sivas 2003; 189.
Arslantaş D, Metintaş S, Ünsal A, Kalyoncu C. Eskişehir’de kırsal alanda erişkin yaş grubunda baş ağrısı sıklığı. 8. Halk Sağlığı Günleri Bildiri Özetleri Kitabı. Sivas 2003; 186.
Başer S, Çetin M, Eraslan B, Mızrak M, Oktay D, Subaşı N et al. Ankara ili Park Sağlık Ocağına bağlı 085 No’lu Sağlık Evi bölgesinde yaşayan 18-64 yaş grubu kişilerde kronik ağrı sıklığı ve Beck Depresyon Envanteri ile değerlendirilmesi. Unpublished research report. Ankara 2003.
Gagliese L, Katz J, Melzack R. Pain in the elderly. In: Wall PD, Melzack R, editors. Textbook of Pain. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1999; 991-1006.
Sternbach RA. Survey of pain in the United States: the Nuprin report. Clin J Pain 1986; 2: 49-53.
Donahue JG, Choo PW, Manson JAE, Platt R. The incidence of herpes zoster. Arch Intern Med 1995; 155: 1605-1609.
Harkins SW. Geriatric pain: pain perception in the old. Clin Geriatr Med 1996; 12: 435-445.
Pilowsky I, Bassett DL. Pain and depression. British Journal of Psychiatry 1982; 141: 30-36.
Ohayon MM, Schatzberg AF. Using chronic pain to predict depressive morbidity in the general population. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003; 60: 39-47.
Erol N, Ulusoy M, Keçeci M, Şimşek Türütgen Z. Ruh Sağlığı Profili Ön Raporu. Ankara: Sağlık Bakanlığı, Sağlık Projesi Koordinatörlüğü, 1997.
World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2001: Mental health: New understanding, new hope. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001.
Elliott, AM, Smith BH, Penny K, Smith WL, Chambers WA. The epidemiology of chronic pain in the community. Lancet 1999; 354: 1248-1252.
Currie SR, Wang J. Chronic back pain and major depression in the general Canadian population. Pain 2004; 107: 54-60.
Boardman HF, Thomas E, Millson DS, Croft PR. Psychological, sleep, lifestyle, and comorbid associations with headache. Headache 2005; 45: 657-69.
Munoz RA, McBride ME, Brnabic AJ, Lopez CJ, Hetem LA, Secin R et al. Major depressive disorder in Latin America: the relationship between depression severity, painful somatic symptoms, and quality of life. Evid Based Ment Health 2005; 8: 116.