Pain Severity Ratings Among Patients with Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. PTSD is characterized by physiological symptoms such as sleep disturbances and hyperarousal. One understudied symptom in PTSD patients is chronic pain (CP)....
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University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
2025-06-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Medical Students |
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| Online Access: | http://ijms.info/IJMS/article/view/3132 |
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| author | Lily Charron Eduardo Espiridion |
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Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. PTSD is characterized by physiological symptoms such as sleep disturbances and hyperarousal. One understudied symptom in PTSD patients is chronic pain (CP). Acute pain can lead to CP when it persists beyond adaptation. The interconnection between stress and pain has been well-established in fields of neuroscience and psychology, though we still do not fully understand the nature of this clinical relationship.
Methods: In the current retrospective cohort study, we use a sample of patients with PTSD and CP through a database of numerous healthcare organizations called TriNetX. We compare the reported pain severity rating between three groups: those with PTSD and no CP, those with CP and no PTSD, and those with comorbid PTSD and CP. The summary data was compared using a one-way analysis of variance with the Welch statistic.
Results: The average reported pain severity was significantly different between all three groups (F(2, 21288)=279.80, p < .001). The patients with comorbid PTSD and CP reported the highest average pain severity, followed by patients with only CP and then patients with only PTSD.
Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a need to further investigate the complex relationship between PTSD and CP. The higher average pain severity in patients with both disorders suggest that integrated pain management and mental health interventions must be prioritized in this population.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6250284bd94f4a3696c7d82152f0d9df |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-6327 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | University Library System, University of Pittsburgh |
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| series | International Journal of Medical Students |
| spelling | doaj-art-6250284bd94f4a3696c7d82152f0d9df2025-08-20T02:37:05ZengUniversity Library System, University of PittsburghInternational Journal of Medical Students2076-63272025-06-01Pain Severity Ratings Among Patients with Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort StudyLily Charron0Eduardo EspiridionDrexel University College of Medicine Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that may occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. PTSD is characterized by physiological symptoms such as sleep disturbances and hyperarousal. One understudied symptom in PTSD patients is chronic pain (CP). Acute pain can lead to CP when it persists beyond adaptation. The interconnection between stress and pain has been well-established in fields of neuroscience and psychology, though we still do not fully understand the nature of this clinical relationship. Methods: In the current retrospective cohort study, we use a sample of patients with PTSD and CP through a database of numerous healthcare organizations called TriNetX. We compare the reported pain severity rating between three groups: those with PTSD and no CP, those with CP and no PTSD, and those with comorbid PTSD and CP. The summary data was compared using a one-way analysis of variance with the Welch statistic. Results: The average reported pain severity was significantly different between all three groups (F(2, 21288)=279.80, p < .001). The patients with comorbid PTSD and CP reported the highest average pain severity, followed by patients with only CP and then patients with only PTSD. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a need to further investigate the complex relationship between PTSD and CP. The higher average pain severity in patients with both disorders suggest that integrated pain management and mental health interventions must be prioritized in this population. http://ijms.info/IJMS/article/view/3132posttraumatic stress disorderanxiety disorderpsychological traumapain severityChronic pain |
| spellingShingle | Lily Charron Eduardo Espiridion Pain Severity Ratings Among Patients with Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort Study International Journal of Medical Students posttraumatic stress disorder anxiety disorder psychological trauma pain severity Chronic pain |
| title | Pain Severity Ratings Among Patients with Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_full | Pain Severity Ratings Among Patients with Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_fullStr | Pain Severity Ratings Among Patients with Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pain Severity Ratings Among Patients with Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_short | Pain Severity Ratings Among Patients with Comorbid Chronic Pain and PTSD: A Retrospective Cohort Study |
| title_sort | pain severity ratings among patients with comorbid chronic pain and ptsd a retrospective cohort study |
| topic | posttraumatic stress disorder anxiety disorder psychological trauma pain severity Chronic pain |
| url | http://ijms.info/IJMS/article/view/3132 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lilycharron painseverityratingsamongpatientswithcomorbidchronicpainandptsdaretrospectivecohortstudy AT eduardoespiridion painseverityratingsamongpatientswithcomorbidchronicpainandptsdaretrospectivecohortstudy |