The relationship between mindfulness, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, depression, and quality of life among cancer survivors living with chronic neuropathic pain.

PURPOSE: This study aims to examine if mindfulness is associated with pain catastrophizing, depression, disability, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP). METHOD: We conducted a cross-sectional survey with cancer survivors experiencing CNP. Participants (n = 76) were men (24 %) and women (76 %) with an average age of 56.5 years (SD = 9.4). Participants were at least 1 year post-treatment, with no evidence of cancer, and with symptoms of neuropathic pain for more than three months. Participants completed the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), along with measures of pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, depression, and HRQOL. RESULTS: Mindfulness was negatively correlated with pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, and depression, and it was positively correlated with mental health-related HRQOL. Regression analyses demonstrated that mindfulness was a negative predictor of pain intensity and depression and a positive predictor of mental HRQOL after controlling for pain catastrophizing, age, and gender. The two mindfulness facets that were most consistently associated with better outcomes were non-judging and acting with awareness. Mindfulness significantly moderated the relationships between pain intensity and pain catastrophizing and between pain intensity and pain interference. CONCLUSION: It appears that mindfulness mitigates the impact of pain experiences in cancer survivors experiencing CNP post-treatment. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This study suggests that mindfulness is associated with better adjustment to CNP. This provides the foundation to explore whether mindfulness-based interventions improve quality of life among cancer survivors living with CNP.

Psychometric properties of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia-11 (TSK-11).

UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of an abbreviated version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) in a clinical sample of patients with chronic pain. Chronic pain patients (n = 276) seeking treatment at an interdisciplinary treatment center completed self-report questionnaires including the TSK-13, and 2 tests of physical functioning. Four competing models of the TSK were tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was assessed, as were discriminant evidence of construct validity and concurrent criterion-related validity. Incremental validity was assessed with hierarchical multiple regressions controlling for pain severity. The analyses indicated that an 11-item, 2-factor structure best fit the data. The first factor, somatic focus, consisted of 5 items, while the second factor, activity avoidance, was comprised of 6 items. The TSK-11 scales demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency, as well as evidence of discriminant, concurrent criterion-related, and incremental validity. Somatic focus uniquely predicted perceived disability while activity avoidance uniquely predicted actual physical performance, controlling for pain severity. The 2-factor structure of the TSK-11 was found to be a brief, reliable, and valid measure of fear of movement/(re)injury for chronic pain patients. We recommend that the TSK-11 be used in future research and in clinical settings. PERSPECTIVE: In this study, confirmatory factor analysis identified the 2-factor TSK-11 as the best fitting model of TSK factor structure. The TSK-11 is a brief, reliable, and valid measure of fear of movement/(re)injury for chronic pain patients.

Human papillomavirus infection and anxiety: analyses in women with low-grade cervical cytological abnormalities unaware of their infection status.

BACKGROUND: Women testing positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection experience increased levels of anxiety that have been attributed to fears of stigmatization and developing cervical cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between HPV infection and anxiety in women who were unaware they had been tested specifically for HPV, to determine if any anxiety experienced by HPV-positive women could be due to causes other than learning of test results. METHODS: This study was nested within a randomised controlled trial of management of women with abnormal cervical cytology conducted in the United Kingdom with recruitment between 1999 and 2002. At baseline, prior to having a sample taken for HPV testing, the results of which were not disclosed, women were assessed for anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and asked about fears of developing cervical cancer ("cancer worries"); this assessment was repeated at 12, 18, 24, and 30 months of follow-up. Logistic regression and generalized estimating equations were used for the cross-sectional (baseline) and longitudinal analyses, respectively. RESULTS: Among the 2842 participants, there was no association between HPV status and anxiety among white women. Among non-white women, however, anxiety was less common among HPV-positive than HPV-negative women (adjusted odds ratio 0.41, 95% confidence interval 0.22 to 0.77). Among non-smokers, cancer worry was more common in HPV-positive than HPV-negative women; the opposite association was observed among ex-smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Associations between HPV status and anxiety may be explained by factors other than learning of test results and may vary by ethnicity and lifestyle factors.

Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory--second edition (BDI-II) in individuals with chronic pain.

Given the high prevalence of depression in individuals with chronic pain and the negative outcomes associated with such comorbidity, the importance of assessing depressive symptoms is widely acknowledged by chronic pain specialists. The BDI-II is a commonly employed measure of depressive symptomatology at pain centres; however, little is known about its psychometric properties in this population. This study evaluated factorial validity, internal consistency, and gender invariance of the BDI-II in 481 patients with chronic pain. Four competing models of the BDI-II factor structure were examined and confirmatory factor analysis supported the conceptualization of depression as a singular latent construct, within a hierarchical factor structure consisting of three first-order factors--Negative Attitude, Performance Difficulty, and Somatic Elements. Factor structure, item-total correlations, and correlations between subscale means and subjective pain experience support the inclusion of somatic items despite concerns regarding their overlap with pain symptoms. Internal consistency was good. Mean total scores were in the moderately severe range. Given the evidence of partial measurement invariance, an examination of mean gender differences was warranted. In contrast to the general population, the average scores of women and men were similar. Overall, results support the construct validity and internal consistency of the BDI-II for assessing depressive symptoms in both women and men with chronic pain. Results support the appropriateness of computing a total score and/or subscale scores. These results impact chronic pain researchers and clinicians, particularly given current trends toward empirically supported assessment.

Testing factorial validity and gender invariance of the pain catastrophizing scale.

Recent research has indicated that the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) is a reliable measure that taps three dimensions of a singular construct. Gender differences have been found consistently in catastrophizing, with women reporting significantly higher scores than men on the PCS. This study was designed to cross-validate the factor structure of the PCS, independently for men and women, through second-order confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicate that the second-order models provide a good fit to the data. The conceptualization of catastrophizing as a singular latent construct, within a hierarchical factorial structure that consists of three first-order factors--rumination, magnification, and helplessness, was supported for both men and women. The second research objective was to test the two models for gender equivalence. Results indicate that all constraints held across gender. Together, these findings support the psychometric soundness of the PCS and indicate that the gender differences found are not due to an inadequate fit of the measurement or structural model.