Chronic Pain and Mental Health – the Disparity in Care
Those with chronic pain use mental health treatment services less often than their pain-free counterparts.
In a new study published in the journal PAIN, researchers determined that those who live with pain are less likely to get help for mental health conditions, something that has been defined in previous studies. They also found that those living with chronic pain have a much higher prevalence of anxiety or depression than their pain-free counterparts.
Pain and Mental Health
Using data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey (a representative sample of 32,000 adults), study authors found that chronic pain was associated with “end-to-end disparities in the mental health journeys of U.S. adults.”ย The study found that among U.S. adults, those with chronic pain:
- Use mental health services less than their pain-free counterparts.
- 43% of respondents with chronic pain had a mental health need compared to 17% of those without.
- Those with chronic pain and mental health conditions were twice as likely to experience unsatisfactory treatment.
- 44% reported use of mental health treatment but still had symptoms of anxiety and depression. 72% of those with mental health issues reported satisfactory results.
- Most interestingly, 61% of people who utilize mental health treatments but have unchanged depression or anxiety also have chronic pain.
Why is There a Disparity in Care?
There could be many reasons for the disparity in care, including stigma; underreported pain, anxiety, or depression; lack of awareness of the needs of those with chronic pain; and more.ย Researchers concluded that the U.S. healthcare system is not equipped to provide the education, screening, or treatment to address their mental health needs.
“Overall, our results suggest that U.S. adults with chronic pain constitute an underrecognized majority of those living with unremitted anxiety/depression symptoms and that the U.S. healthcare system is not yet adequately equipped to educate, screen, navigate to care, and successfully address their unmet mental health needs. Building the U.S. healthcare system’s capacity to address co-occurring chronic pain and mental health challenges holds promise for interrupting preventable progressions to high-impact chronic pain, new or exacerbated substance use disorders, and, potentially, the morbidity and mortality associated with the use of opioids.”ย
De La Rosa, Jennifer S.a,b,*; Brady, Benjamin R.a,c; Herder, Katherine E.a,d; Wallace, Jessica S.a,b; Ibrahim, Mohab M.a,e; Allen, Alicia M.a,b; Meyerson, Beth E.a,b; Suhr, Kyle A.a,f; Vanderah, Todd W.a,g. The unmet mental health needs of U.S. adults living with chronic pain.
