Sullivan M J, Neish N R
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1998 Oct;26(5):344-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1998.tb01971.x.
This study examined the relations between catastrophizing, dental anxiety, and pain during dental hygiene treatment.
Participants were 78 (32 men, 46 women) consecutive referrals to the Dalhousie University Dental Clinic. All patients were scheduled for a scaling procedure performed by senior dental hygiene students. Following treatment, patients completed the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and the Dental Anxiety Scale - Revised, and were asked to rate the degree of pain they experienced during the scaling procedure.
Regression analyses revealed that age and the rumination subscale of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale were significant predictors of pain, even when controlling for gender, and oral hygiene status.
The findings suggest that excessive focus on pain sensations may be one of the mechanisms by which catastrophizing leads to increased pain. The clinical challenges will be to develop cost- and time-effective means of identifying individuals who catastrophize and to implement interventions to reduce their level of distress.
本研究探讨了在口腔卫生治疗过程中灾难化思维、牙科焦虑与疼痛之间的关系。
78名（32名男性，46名女性）连续被转介至达尔豪斯大学牙科诊所的患者参与了研究。所有患者均安排由高年级口腔卫生专业学生进行洗牙操作。治疗后，患者完成了疼痛灾难化量表和修订版牙科焦虑量表，并被要求对洗牙过程中所经历的疼痛程度进行评分。
回归分析显示，即使在控制了性别和口腔卫生状况后，年龄和疼痛灾难化量表的沉思子量表仍是疼痛的显著预测因素。
研究结果表明，过度关注疼痛感觉可能是灾难化思维导致疼痛加剧的机制之一。临床面临的挑战将是开发经济有效的方法来识别具有灾难化思维的个体，并实施干预措施以减轻他们的痛苦程度。
