Adults with chronic pain tend to have increased anxiety and depression

Chronic pain contributes to mental health woes: ©Pankajstock123 - stock.adobe.com

A University of Arizona Health Sciences study found a significant correlation between chronic pain and increased symptoms of anxiety and depression among U.S. adults. The research, published in the journal PAIN, reveals that despite experiencing higher rates of mental health issues, adults with chronic pain access mental health care at lower rates and are less likely to have their mental health needs met in treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 51.6 million U.S. adults experienced chronic pain in 2021. The study indicates that while individuals with chronic pain constitute 20.4% of the adult population, they represent an estimated 55.5% of adults with clinically significant anxiety and depression symptoms.

“The mental health movement in the United States has been extremely successful, and many people are living better lives as a result,” said Jennifer S. De La Rosa, lead author of the study and strategy director for the U of A Health Sciences Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction, which funded the research. “Yet among those whose mental health needs haven’t yet been effectively addressed, the experience of chronic pain is not the exception, it is the rule. The needs of people with chronic pain are too often left out of our national mental health conversation. Our findings suggest that meaningful engagement with the lived experiences of those with chronic pain should be a focus of our national mental health agenda going forward.”

Building on previous research from the Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction, which found that one in 20 U.S. adults suffer from a combination of chronic pain and anxiety or depression symptoms, this new study examined the extent to which individuals with chronic pain access and benefit from mental health treatment.

Analyzing data from 31,997 participants in the National Health Interview Survey, the research team identified chronic pain-related disparities in three areas: the need for mental health treatment, the use of mental health treatment, and the success of treating anxiety and depression symptoms when treatment is used.

Key findings of the study include:

• 43.2% of adults living with chronic pain, approximately 21.5 million people, have a mental health need, compared to 17.4% of adults without chronic pain.
• Chronic pain is associated with a 40.3% reduction in the odds of using mental health treatment among those with mental health needs.
• Only 44.4% of people with chronic pain, an estimated 9.5 million, used mental health services and had their symptoms adequately treated, compared to 71.5% of those without chronic pain.
• Adults with chronic pain are more than twice as likely as others to experience continuing anxiety or depression symptoms even when receiving mental health treatment.

“For those with chronic pain, the narrative about what needs to be done to address mental health is qualitatively different than for those who don't have chronic pain,” said De La Rosa. “Improving health care for people with chronic pain includes not only connecting people to care but also addressing a disproportionate failure to achieve relief, even in the context of caregiving.”