RESUMO
Epidemiologic studies indicate that depression is a common comorbidity associated with chronic pain states. Both conditions are so interwoven and emerging evidence suggests that they share common pathways. This study purpose was to assess the prevalence of depression in a sample of chronic pain patients. 100 chronic pain patients were investigated through the Beck Depression Inventory to evaluate depresseion degree and through the visual analogical test to evaluat chronic pain degree. All patients belonged to the unique Tunisian Pain Management Centre. The prevalence of major depression reached 59% [27,5% had a mild depression, 26,5% had a moderate depression and 5% had a severe depression]. The rate of major depression increased significantly with longer pain history. Our results are similars to those of literature. Despite this high depression prevalence, only one patient out of ten received an effective antidepressant. A treatment and a seek for depressive symptoms are needed in case of chronic pain