More cognitive rigidity found in patients with depression plus fibromyalgia

More attention might need to be paid to the role of chronic pain in the treatment of patients with comorbid depression, researchers suggest.

“Maybe models of depression should differentiate between depressed patients with a chronic pain condition, such as [fibromyalgia], and those without pain, wrote Mari Aguilera of the department of cognition, development, and educational psychology at the University of Barcelona and associates.

The research involved 62 patients who had participated in a previous randomized controlled trial that had assessed the efficacy of a dilemma-focused intervention for depression. All patients in the trial had met the criteria for major depressive disorder and/or dysthymia and had a score of more than 19 on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) scale, the investigators reported in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.

For the current trial, the researchers studied 31 patients from the trial who had an average age of 50, a concurrent diagnosis of fibromyalgia for an average of 8.14 years, an average of 2.06 depressive episodes, and a mean pain intensity of 76.21 on the visual analog scale.

The matched group of 31 patients who were used as a comparator group did not have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and did not report high levels of pain intensity. Results showed that, in line with the researchers’ expectations, depressed patients with fibromyalgia had significantly higher BDI-II scores than patients with depression alone.

The researchers noted that patients with comorbid fibromyalgia had higher scores in pessimism, irritability, concentration/difficulty, tiredness or fatigue, and loss of interest in sex, compared with the control group.

“The nature of the relationship between pain and depression needs further studies to develop a better understanding in the future,” they wrote. The study was published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.

Patients with comorbid fibromyalgia had higher levels of depressive symptoms and greater cognitive rigidity than did controls, the researchers found. Those with comorbid depression and pain also displayed higher levels of polarization, compared with the matched patients, with a medium-sized effect.

The study results suggest that, for some patients, depression might be associated with the experience of pain. The small study size was cited as a limitation for generalizability. However, if confirmed by other larger studies, the researchers said, the findings might have implications for the treatment of depressed patients with comorbid fibromyalgia. “For patients with chronic pain, increasing their cognitive complexity might lead to better therapeutic results,” they wrote. “Overall, our study points to the need for more attention to the role of chronic pain in the study and treatment of depressed patients.

The research was funded by Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation.

SOURCE: Aguilera M et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2019 May;19(2):160-4.

More attention might need to be paid to the role of chronic pain in the treatment of patients with comorbid depression, researchers suggest.

“Maybe models of depression should differentiate between depressed patients with a chronic pain condition, such as [fibromyalgia], and those without pain, wrote Mari Aguilera of the department of cognition, development, and educational psychology at the University of Barcelona and associates.

The research involved 62 patients who had participated in a previous randomized controlled trial that had assessed the efficacy of a dilemma-focused intervention for depression. All patients in the trial had met the criteria for major depressive disorder and/or dysthymia and had a score of more than 19 on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) scale, the investigators reported in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.

For the current trial, the researchers studied 31 patients from the trial who had an average age of 50, a concurrent diagnosis of fibromyalgia for an average of 8.14 years, an average of 2.06 depressive episodes, and a mean pain intensity of 76.21 on the visual analog scale.

The matched group of 31 patients who were used as a comparator group did not have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and did not report high levels of pain intensity. Results showed that, in line with the researchers’ expectations, depressed patients with fibromyalgia had significantly higher BDI-II scores than patients with depression alone.

The researchers noted that patients with comorbid fibromyalgia had higher scores in pessimism, irritability, concentration/difficulty, tiredness or fatigue, and loss of interest in sex, compared with the control group.

“The nature of the relationship between pain and depression needs further studies to develop a better understanding in the future,” they wrote. The study was published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.

Patients with comorbid fibromyalgia had higher levels of depressive symptoms and greater cognitive rigidity than did controls, the researchers found. Those with comorbid depression and pain also displayed higher levels of polarization, compared with the matched patients, with a medium-sized effect.

The study results suggest that, for some patients, depression might be associated with the experience of pain. The small study size was cited as a limitation for generalizability. However, if confirmed by other larger studies, the researchers said, the findings might have implications for the treatment of depressed patients with comorbid fibromyalgia. “For patients with chronic pain, increasing their cognitive complexity might lead to better therapeutic results,” they wrote. “Overall, our study points to the need for more attention to the role of chronic pain in the study and treatment of depressed patients.

The research was funded by Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation.

SOURCE: Aguilera M et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2019 May;19(2):160-4.

More attention might need to be paid to the role of chronic pain in the treatment of patients with comorbid depression, researchers suggest.

“Maybe models of depression should differentiate between depressed patients with a chronic pain condition, such as [fibromyalgia], and those without pain, wrote Mari Aguilera of the department of cognition, development, and educational psychology at the University of Barcelona and associates.

The research involved 62 patients who had participated in a previous randomized controlled trial that had assessed the efficacy of a dilemma-focused intervention for depression. All patients in the trial had met the criteria for major depressive disorder and/or dysthymia and had a score of more than 19 on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) scale, the investigators reported in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.

For the current trial, the researchers studied 31 patients from the trial who had an average age of 50, a concurrent diagnosis of fibromyalgia for an average of 8.14 years, an average of 2.06 depressive episodes, and a mean pain intensity of 76.21 on the visual analog scale.

The matched group of 31 patients who were used as a comparator group did not have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia and did not report high levels of pain intensity. Results showed that, in line with the researchers’ expectations, depressed patients with fibromyalgia had significantly higher BDI-II scores than patients with depression alone.

The researchers noted that patients with comorbid fibromyalgia had higher scores in pessimism, irritability, concentration/difficulty, tiredness or fatigue, and loss of interest in sex, compared with the control group.

“The nature of the relationship between pain and depression needs further studies to develop a better understanding in the future,” they wrote. The study was published in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.

Patients with comorbid fibromyalgia had higher levels of depressive symptoms and greater cognitive rigidity than did controls, the researchers found. Those with comorbid depression and pain also displayed higher levels of polarization, compared with the matched patients, with a medium-sized effect.

The study results suggest that, for some patients, depression might be associated with the experience of pain. The small study size was cited as a limitation for generalizability. However, if confirmed by other larger studies, the researchers said, the findings might have implications for the treatment of depressed patients with comorbid fibromyalgia. “For patients with chronic pain, increasing their cognitive complexity might lead to better therapeutic results,” they wrote. “Overall, our study points to the need for more attention to the role of chronic pain in the study and treatment of depressed patients.

The research was funded by Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation.

SOURCE: Aguilera M et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2019 May;19(2):160-4.