Citation

Paré C, Thibault P, Côté P, Pimentel SD, Shen S, Yakobov E, Sullivan MJL. Clin. J. Pain 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/AJP.0000000000000749

PMID

31433319

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Pain catastrophizing has been shown to be correlated with measures of mental health problems such as depression and PTSD. However, the clinical implications of findings reported to date remain unclear. To date, no study has been conducted to determine meaningful cut-scores on measures of catastrophizing indicative of heightened risk of mental health comorbidity. One objective of the present study was to identify the cut-score on the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) indicative of heightened risk of the comorbidity of depression and PTSD. A second objective was to determine whether mental health comorbidity mediated the relation between catastrophizing and occupational disability.

METHODS: The sample consisted of 143 individuals with whiplash injuries. Pain severity, pain catastrophizing, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed following admission to a rehabilitation program. Mental health comorbidity was operationally defined as obtaining a score above clinical threshold on measures of depressive and/or post-traumatic stress symptom severity.

RESULTS: A ROC curve analysis revealed that a PCS score of 22 best distinguished between participants with and without mental health comorbidity.

RESULTS also revealed that mental health comorbidity mediated the relation between catastrophizing and occupational disability.

DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that a score of 22 or greater on the PCS should alert clinicians to the possibility that patients might also be experiencing clinically significant symptoms of depression or PTSD. Greater attention to the detection and treatment of mental health conditions associated with whiplash injury might contribute to more positive recovery outcomes.

Language: en