Mental disorders chronic pain sufferers more exposed

A new study by a group of researchers in the United States has shown that adults with spinal cord injuries have an almost 80% increased risk of developing psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety, compared to people without traumatic injuries. The study also suggests that chronic pain may have an equally significant negative effect on mental health.

The study was published in “Spinal Cord” by a team of researchers led by Michigan Medicine who analysed the private insurance claims of more than 9,000 adults with traumatic spinal cord injury and more than one million adults without.

They took into account a range of psychological disorders, from anxiety and mood disorders to insomnia and mental disorders.

People living with a spinal cord injury were diagnosed with a mental disorder more often than others (59.1% compared with 30.9%). Although depression and adverse mental health outcomes are not inevitable consequences of any traumatic spinal cord injury, previous results have consistently reported higher levels of psychological morbidity in this group than in the general population without spinal cord injury.

In this study, however, chronic centralised and neuropathic pain in adults living with spinal cord injury was found to be strongly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders and other mental health problems. In most cases, chronic pain had an even greater influence on these conditions than exposure to life with the injury itself.

According to the researchers, these results should encourage doctors to identify mental disorders when they see patients with spinal cord injuries and refer them to mental health providers for treatment.

“Improved clinical efforts are needed to facilitate early identification and treatment of chronic pain and psychological health in this high-risk population,” said Mark Peterson, PhD, lead author of the paper and associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Michigan Medicine, in an article published on its website https://www.hindustantimes.com.

However, the researchers noted that a lack of insurance coverage and limited available services risked the problem going unaddressed.

“Stakeholders must work together to pressure the federal government to fund more research and make special policy changes to ensure adequate, long-term physical and mental health insurance coverage to meet the needs of people living with spinal cord injuries,” Peterson said.

Ingrid Kengne