Jenny L.M. Åström Reitan , Bianka Karshikoff , Linda Holmström , Mats Lekander , Mike K. Kemani , Rikard K. Wicksell
{"title":"Associations between sickness behavior, but not inflammatory cytokines, and psychiatric comorbidity in chronic pain","authors":"Jenny L.M. Åström Reitan , Bianka Karshikoff , Linda Holmström , Mats Lekander , Mike K. Kemani , Rikard K. Wicksell","doi":"10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107094","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><p>Approximately one in five adults experiences chronic pain, often in co-occurrence with depression, insomnia, anxiety, and lower self-rated health. Elevated levels of cytokines, e.g. tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), and interleukin 10 (IL-10), have been identified in patients with chronic pain. Depression, insufficient sleep, poor self-rated health, and pain intensity have also been associated with inflammatory biomarkers. This study aimed to investigate the interrelationships between inflammatory biomarkers and depression, insomnia, anxiety, self-rated health, sickness behavior, and pain intensity in patients with chronic pain.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Self-report questionnaires and blood samples analyzed for plasma levels of inflammatory biomarkers were collected from 80 adult patients with chronic pain. Associations between inflammatory biomarkers (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)) and depression, insomnia, anxiety, self-rated health, sickness behavior, and pain intensity, were analyzed using bivariate Spearman rank correlation coefficients and regression analyses.</p></div><div><h3><em>Results</em></h3><p>Participants were mainly women (72.5 %), with a mean age of 50.8 years, and a reported mean pain duration of 16.7 years. There were significant correlations between insomnia and CRP (<em>r</em><sub>s</sub> =.26, <em>p <</em>.05); sex and ESR (<em>r</em><sub>s</sub> =.29, <em>p <</em>.05); age and IL-6 (<em>r</em><sub>s</sub> =.29, <em>p <</em>.05) and IL-8 (<em>r</em><sub>s</sub> =.30, <em>p <</em>.05); BMI and IL-6 (<em>r</em><sub>s</sub> =.50, <em>p <</em>.001), CRP (<em>r</em><sub>s</sub> =.63, <em>p <</em>.001) and ESR (<em>r</em><sub>s</sub> =.42, <em>p <</em>.001). Ratings of depression were positively and significantly related to ratings of sickness behavior and anxiety (β =.32 and β =.40, respectively), explaining 49 % of the total variance in depression ratings. Insomnia was positively and significantly related to sickness behavior (β =.37) explaining 31 % of the total variance in insomnia ratings. Inflammatory biomarkers, however, did not contribute significantly to the models.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Participants reported high levels of symptoms, yet the associations between these ratings and the inflammatory biomarkers were either absent or weak. Also, despite high levels of self-reported sickness behavior, overall the inflammatory status remained within the normal range. Ratings of sickness behavior contributed more than inflammatory markers in explaining ratings of depression and insomnia. The present results point to the complexity of chronic pain, and the challenges of identifying biomarkers that explain symptomatology.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":20836,"journal":{"name":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453024001380/pdfft?md5=9e76fda7ae74a121a43e2590f3976965&pid=1-s2.0-S0306453024001380-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychoneuroendocrinology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453024001380","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives
Approximately one in five adults experiences chronic pain, often in co-occurrence with depression, insomnia, anxiety, and lower self-rated health. Elevated levels of cytokines, e.g. tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), and interleukin 10 (IL-10), have been identified in patients with chronic pain. Depression, insufficient sleep, poor self-rated health, and pain intensity have also been associated with inflammatory biomarkers. This study aimed to investigate the interrelationships between inflammatory biomarkers and depression, insomnia, anxiety, self-rated health, sickness behavior, and pain intensity in patients with chronic pain.
Methods
Self-report questionnaires and blood samples analyzed for plasma levels of inflammatory biomarkers were collected from 80 adult patients with chronic pain. Associations between inflammatory biomarkers (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)) and depression, insomnia, anxiety, self-rated health, sickness behavior, and pain intensity, were analyzed using bivariate Spearman rank correlation coefficients and regression analyses.
Results
Participants were mainly women (72.5 %), with a mean age of 50.8 years, and a reported mean pain duration of 16.7 years. There were significant correlations between insomnia and CRP (rs =.26, p <.05); sex and ESR (rs =.29, p <.05); age and IL-6 (rs =.29, p <.05) and IL-8 (rs =.30, p <.05); BMI and IL-6 (rs =.50, p <.001), CRP (rs =.63, p <.001) and ESR (rs =.42, p <.001). Ratings of depression were positively and significantly related to ratings of sickness behavior and anxiety (β =.32 and β =.40, respectively), explaining 49 % of the total variance in depression ratings. Insomnia was positively and significantly related to sickness behavior (β =.37) explaining 31 % of the total variance in insomnia ratings. Inflammatory biomarkers, however, did not contribute significantly to the models.
Conclusions
Participants reported high levels of symptoms, yet the associations between these ratings and the inflammatory biomarkers were either absent or weak. Also, despite high levels of self-reported sickness behavior, overall the inflammatory status remained within the normal range. Ratings of sickness behavior contributed more than inflammatory markers in explaining ratings of depression and insomnia. The present results point to the complexity of chronic pain, and the challenges of identifying biomarkers that explain symptomatology.
期刊介绍:
Psychoneuroendocrinology publishes papers dealing with the interrelated disciplines of psychology, neurobiology, endocrinology, immunology, neurology, and psychiatry, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary studies aiming at integrating these disciplines in terms of either basic research or clinical implications. One of the main goals is to understand how a variety of psychobiological factors interact in the expression of the stress response as it relates to the development and/or maintenance of neuropsychiatric illnesses.