NOVEMBER 18, 2024
Data published in the Journal of Pain indicate that high-impact chronic pain (HICP) is more common among people with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) when pain is assessed by its effect on physical function rather than pain interference scores. However, psychosocial distress was found to be a consistent feature of HICP, regardless of the pain assessment method.
“The implications for patients and physicians are that how high-impact chronic pain is determined may [affect] which
Data published in the Journal of Pain indicate that high-impact chronic pain (HICP) is more common among people with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) when pain is assessed by its effect on physical function rather than pain interference scores. However, psychosocial distress was found to be a consistent feature of HICP, regardless of the pain assessment method.
“The implications for patients and physicians are that how high-impact chronic pain is determined may [affect] which factors are focused on for developing prognosis and treatment plans,” explained study author Steven Z. George, PT, PhD, the Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke University, in Durham, N.C.
The cross-sectional study included 310 participants with radiographically confirmed KOA from the Johnston County Health Study, a cohort of men and women 35 to 70 years of age who identified as Black, white or Hispanic, and resided in in Johnston County, N.C., from 2019 to 2024 (J Pain 2024 Sep 27. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104687).
All participants’ chronic pain status was classified using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pain Interference (PI) and Physical Function (PF) measures. More patients (66/310; 21.2%) were classified as having HICP with PROMIS-PF compared with PROMIS-PI (48/310; 15.5%).
“Surprisingly, sociodemographic factors were not consistently associated with high-impact chronic pain, as other research has suggested that would be the case,” George told Pain Medicine News.
Researchers concluded that while sociodemographic and clinical factors varied based on how HICP status was defined, consistent psychosocial factors associated with HICP were observed. These findings may lead to novel intervention approaches that are specific to KOA patients and inform future investigators of HICP-associated sociodemographic and clinical factors.
The investigators plan to build on this research by collecting additional follow-up information to determine which factors are predictive of individuals who transition to or away from HICP.
“[This study] may help us to understand better ways of treating [chronic pain],” George concluded.
—Myles Starr
George reported no relevant financial disclosures.
