Reports of memory functioning by patients with chronic pain.

OBJECTIVES

Patients with chronic pain often complain of memory and concentration difficulties. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of a set of variables that previous research has associated with memory complaints in patients with chronic pain: anxiety and depression, benzodiazepine use, chronicity of pain, and age. Special attention is paid to catastrophizing and to the differential role played by its 3 components: magnification, helplessness, and rumination.

METHODS

The Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Questionnaire d auto-evaluation de la Mémoire were administered to 149 patients with benign chronic pain.

RESULTS

The most frequently reported memory complaints included flaws referring to films and books (61%); forgetfulness (44%); handling of everyday things (38%); and flaws about conversations (38%). Regression analyses showed that depression accounted for the largest proportion of variance in memory complaints (35%) followed by anxiety (6%) and rumination (2%).

CONCLUSION

The results support the hypothesis that emotional distress (depression and anxiety) plays an important role in memory complaints in patients with chronic pain, as well as rumination, the intrusive component of catastrophizing. Clinicians should be aware of these factors in the evaluation of memory complaints in patients with chronic pain.