Psychological profiles and prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal in people with chronic pain.

BACKGROUND: The negative consequences of prescription opioid misuse and opioid use disorder make it relevant to identify factors associated with this problem in individuals with chronic pain. This cross-sectional study aimed at identifying subgroups of people with chronic pain based on their psychological profiles, prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal. METHODS: The sample comprised 185 individuals with chronic pain. We performed hierarchical cluster analysis on impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, pain acceptance, pain intensity, opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal. RESULTS: The four-cluster solution was the optimal one. Misuse, craving, and anxiety sensitivity were higher among people in the Severe-problems cluster than among people in the other three clusters. Withdrawal was the highest in the High-withdrawal cluster. Impulsivity was higher among people in the Severe-problems and High-withdrawal clusters than those in the Moderate-problems and Mild-problems clusters. Pain acceptance was higher among people in the Mild-problems cluster than among people in the other three clusters. Anxiety sensitivity and misuse were higher among people in the Moderate-problems cluster than among people in the Mild-problems cluster. CONCLUSIONS: These results support that impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, and pain acceptance are useful constructs to identify subgroups of people with chronic pain according to their level of prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal. The results of this study may help in selecting the early intervention most suitable for each of the identified profiles. SIGNIFICANCE: The psychological profile of individuals with chronic pain, prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal is characterized by fearing anxiety-related symptoms due to the catastrophic interpretation of such symptoms and reacting impulsively to negative moods. In contrast, participants with high pain acceptance had less prescription opioid misuse, craving, and withdrawal. The profiles identified in this study could help clinicians select targets for intervention among profiles with similar needs and facilitate early interventions to prevent opioid misuse onset or aggravation.

The Key Role of Pain Catastrophizing in the Disability of Patients with Acute Back Pain.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the role of anxiety sensitivity, resilience, pain catastrophizing, depression, pain fear-avoidance beliefs, and pain intensity in patients with acute back pain-related disability. METHOD: Two hundred and thirty-two patients with acute back pain completed questionnaires on anxiety sensitivity, resilience, pain catastrophizing, fear-avoidance beliefs, depression, pain intensity, and disability. RESULTS: A structural equation modelling analysis revealed that anxiety sensitivity was associated with pain catastrophizing, and resilience was associated with lower levels of depression. Pain catastrophizing was positively associated with fear-avoidance beliefs and pain intensity. Depression was associated with fear-avoidance beliefs, but was not associated with pain intensity. Finally, catastrophizing, fear-avoidance beliefs, and pain intensity were positively and significantly associated with acute back pain-related disability. CONCLUSION: Although fear-avoidance beliefs and pain intensity were associated with disability, the results showed that pain catastrophizing was a central variable in the pain experience and had significant direct associations with disability when pain was acute. Anxiety sensitivity appeared to be an important antecedent of catastrophizing, whereas the influence of resilience on the acute back pain experience was limited to its relationship with depression.