Shutty Michael S, Cundiff Gary, DeGood Douglas E
Department of Psychology, Clinical Studies Unit, Western State Hospital, Staunton, VA 24401 USA Pain Management Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia Medical School, Charlottesville, VA 22901 USA.
Pain. 1992 May;49(2):199-204. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(92)90143-Y.
Chronic pain patients frequently report that weather conditions affect their pain; however, no standardized measures of weather sensitivity have been developed. We describe the development and use of the Weather and Pain Questionnaire (WPQ) which assess patient sensitivity to meteorologic variables defined by the National Weather Service (e.g., temperature, precipitation). Seventy chronic pain patients (59% females) with an average age of 43 years completed the WPQ. The instrument was revised using factor analysis to produce a Weather Sensitivity Index (WSI) (48% of variance) with high internal consistency (0.93) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.89). Reporting patterns suggested that patients could reliably identify which meteorologic variables influenced their pain but could not reliably determine which physical symptoms were consistently affected. The most frequently reported meteorologic variables which affect pain complaint were temperature (87%) and humidity (77%). The most frequently reported physical complaints associated with the weather were joint and muscle aches (82% and 79%, respectively). Patients labeled as being 'weather sensitive', defined by greater than median scores on the WPQ, reported significantly greater pain intensity, greater chronicity of pain problems, and more difficulties sleeping than patients with low scores on the WPQ. No differences in gender, education level, disability status, or global psychological distress were found. Results are discussed with respect to physiological and psychological mediating variables.
慢性疼痛患者经常报告天气状况会影响他们的疼痛；然而，尚未开发出标准化的天气敏感性测量方法。我们描述了天气与疼痛问卷（WPQ）的开发和使用，该问卷评估患者对美国国家气象局定义的气象变量（如温度、降水量）的敏感性。70名平均年龄为43岁的慢性疼痛患者（59%为女性）完成了WPQ。使用因子分析对该工具进行修订，以产生一个天气敏感性指数（WSI）（方差的48%），具有较高的内部一致性（0.93）和重测信度（r = 0.89）。报告模式表明，患者能够可靠地识别哪些气象变量会影响他们的疼痛，但无法可靠地确定哪些身体症状会持续受到影响。影响疼痛主诉的最常报告的气象变量是温度（87%）和湿度（77%）。与天气相关的最常报告的身体不适是关节和肌肉疼痛（分别为82%和79%）。WPQ得分高于中位数定义为“天气敏感”的患者，与WPQ得分低的患者相比，报告的疼痛强度明显更高、疼痛问题的慢性程度更高，睡眠困难更多。在性别、教育水平、残疾状况或总体心理困扰方面未发现差异。针对生理和心理中介变量对结果进行了讨论。
