1 Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong , Shatin, Hong Kong .
J Palliat Med. 2014 May;17(5):527-32. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2013.0555. Epub 2014 Apr 9.
Depression and pain often coexist in terminally ill patients, but few studies have examined their relationship among larger samples. Other psychosocial factors experienced by patients may become barriers to pain management and affect the relationship between depression and pain.
This study aims to examine the relationship between depression and pain in terminally ill Chinese elders in Hong Kong and explore the moderating effect of psychosocial factors such as loneliness, communication, and being at ease interacting with others.
A secondary data analysis was conducted on a large cohort of community-dwelling Chinese elders applying for long-term care service in Hong Kong between 2004 and 2009. A total of 312 elders who had a prognosis of less than 6 months were included.
Depression was associated positively and significantly with pain. However, loneliness moderated this relationship, and for participants who felt lonely, depression and pain were no longer significantly associated.
Findings support the positive relationship between depression and pain in terminally ill elders. Feeling lonely may affect the tendency to report pain. To ensure optimal pain management for patients in palliative and end-of-life care, assessment and intervention should focus on the impact of psychosocial factors such as loneliness, and how they may affect elders' reporting of pain.
在绝症患者中，抑郁和疼痛常常同时存在，但很少有研究在较大样本中探讨它们之间的关系。患者经历的其他心理社会因素可能成为疼痛管理的障碍，并影响抑郁和疼痛之间的关系。
本研究旨在探讨香港绝症老年华人中抑郁与疼痛之间的关系，并探讨孤独感、沟通和与他人轻松互动等心理社会因素的调节作用。
对 2004 年至 2009 年间在香港申请长期护理服务的社区居住的大量华人老年人进行二次数据分析。共纳入 312 名预计存活时间不足 6 个月的老年人。
抑郁与疼痛呈正相关且显著相关。然而，孤独感调节了这种关系，对于感到孤独的参与者来说，抑郁和疼痛不再显著相关。
研究结果支持绝症老年人中抑郁与疼痛之间的正相关关系。孤独感可能会影响报告疼痛的倾向。为了确保在姑息治疗和生命末期关怀中为患者提供最佳的疼痛管理，评估和干预应重点关注孤独感等心理社会因素的影响，以及它们如何影响老年人对疼痛的报告。
