Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis,Indiana, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Pain Med. 2021 Oct 8;22(10):2207-2217. doi: 10.1093/pm/pnab001.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder that affects approximately 100,000 Americans, the majority of whom are African American. SCD-related pain often has deleterious effects on functioning and quality of life. The inherited nature of SCD, SCD-related stigma, and serious physical and functional impact of SCD-related pain create a situation ripe for individuals to appraise their SCD-related pain as unfair or unjust. The aim of this preliminary investigation is to explore the extent to which pediatric patients with SCD appraise their pain as unjust and how these appraisals relate to functioning.
Participants were youth with SCD (N = 30, mean age = 11.3, 57% boys) who attended a hematology clinic visit. Patients were invited to complete paper-based questionnaires assessing pain-related injustice appraisals, pain catastrophizing, pain and hurt, functional disability, depression, anxiety, and peer relationships.
Results of hierarchical regressions indicate that pain-related injustice significantly predicted functional disability, depression, and anxiety after controlling for patient pain and catastrophizing.
These findings suggest that pain-related injustice appraisals are an important contributor to the pain experience of youth with SCD. Early identification and remediation of pain-related injustice appraisals could have long-term functional benefits for youth with SCD.
镰状细胞病（SCD）是一种遗传疾病，影响大约 10 万名美国人，其中大多数是美国非裔。SCD 相关的疼痛常常对功能和生活质量产生有害影响。SCD 的遗传性、与 SCD 相关的污名、以及 SCD 相关疼痛对身体和功能的严重影响，使得人们有可能将他们的 SCD 相关疼痛评估为不公平或不公正。本初步研究旨在探讨 SCD 患儿对其疼痛的不公正评估程度，以及这些评估与功能之间的关系。
参与者为患有 SCD 的青少年（N=30，平均年龄为 11.3 岁，57%为男孩），他们参加了血液科就诊。患者被邀请完成评估疼痛相关不公正评估、疼痛灾难化、疼痛和伤害、功能障碍、抑郁、焦虑和同伴关系的纸质问卷。
分层回归的结果表明，在控制患者的疼痛和灾难化后，疼痛相关的不公正显著预测了功能障碍、抑郁和焦虑。
这些发现表明，疼痛相关的不公正评估是 SCD 青少年疼痛体验的一个重要因素。早期识别和纠正疼痛相关的不公正评估可能对 SCD 青少年有长期的功能益处。
