War experiences and relationship problems predict pain sensitivity cross-sectionally among patients with chronic primary pain.

BACKGROUND: Most patients suffering from chronic pain are more susceptible to pain and pressure due to higher pain sensitivity. Since psychosocial factors play a central role in developing and maintaining chronic pain, investigating associations between pain sensitivity and psychosocial stressors promises to advance the biopsychosocial understanding of chronic pain.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to replicate Studer et al.'s (2016) findings about associations of psychosocial stressors with pain sensitivity in a new sample of patients with chronic primary pain (ICD-11, MG30.0).

METHODS: A pain provocation test was used on both middle fingers and earlobes to assess pain sensitivity among 460 inpatients with chronic primary pain. Potentially life-threatening accidents, war experiences, relationship problems, certified inability to work, and adverse childhood experiences were assessed as potential psychosocial stressors. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate associations between psychosocial stressors and pain sensitivity.

RESULTS: We partially replicated Studer et al.'s findings. Similar to the original study, patients with chronic primary pain showed enhanced pain sensitivity values. Within the investigated group, war experiences (β = 0.160, p < .001) and relationship problems (β = 0.096, p = .014) were associated with higher pain sensitivity. In addition, the control variables of age, sex, and pain intensity also showed a predictive value for higher pain sensitivity. Unlike Studer et al., we could not identify a certified inability to work as a predictor of higher pain sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that beyond age, sex, and pain intensity, the psychosocial stressors of war experiences and relationship problems were associated with higher pain sensitivity.