Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
1. Uluslararası 25.Ulusal Klinik Eğitim Sempozyumu, İzmir, Türkiye, 19 - 22 Mayıs 2022, ss.18
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Pain is an unpleasant sensory or
emotional experience related to the individual's past experiences,
originating from any part of the body. Actual or potential tissue damage
may accompany the pain. Chronic pain is a condition that persists
despite the passing of the acute pathological condition or is associated
with chronic tissue pathology. This period is specified as 3-6 months.
The rate of nicotine addiction among people with chronic pain is
higher than the general population. Smoking can reduce chronic pain
by reducing emotional stress and distracting attention from painful
stimuli as a coping strategy. Evidence support that smokers have a
higher incidence of chronic pain and report higher pain intensity scores.
Smokers have a higher pain intensity and need more analgesics, and that
pain affects their lives more negatively than non-smokers.
In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between pain severity
and smoking status (severity of smoking addiction, duration of smoking
addiction) and the role of distress intolerance and anxiety sensitivity in
this relationship in chronic pain patients who currently smoke.
METHODS: We recruited the patients with chronic pain who admitted
to Eskişehir Osmangazi University Algology Unit between 01.03.2021
and 30.09.2021. Inclusion criteria were having chronic pain for at
least three months or more, volunteering to participate in the study,
being 18 years old or older, being literate enough to fill out the forms
alone, smoke at least one cigarette a day. We utilized sociodemographic
information form, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale- Anxiety Subscale,
Distress Intolerance Scale (DIS), Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI),
Fagerström Nicotine Dependence Test (FNDT), and visual analog scale
as data collection tools. The local Ethics Committee approved our study
(30.03.2021 number: 29).
RESULTS: A total of 58 patients participated in the present study.
65.5% of the sample was female (n=38). High school graduates were
27.6% of the participants (n=16), while university graduates were
19.0% (n=11). The mean age of the group was 49.10 ± 12.26. The
duration of smoking median value was 22 (15.00- 30.00) years. The
median value of years with chronic pain was 5.00 (2.75- 10.00).
Amount of consumed daily cigarettes was less than 10 among 51.7%
(n=30), 10-20 cigarettes for 41.4% (n=24).
FTND scores were correlated to the severity of perceived pain (r=0.286
p=0.030), DIS (r=-0.304 p=0.020), and anxiety (r=0.268 p=0.042).
Multivariate binary logistic regression analyses demonstrated following
variables predict moderate or high nicotine dependence: anxiety
(Odds=1.140 (1.016-1.278) p=0.025), severity of perceived pain
(Odds=1.569 (1.140-2.158) p=0.006), DIS (Odds=0.942 (0.899-
0.987) p=0.012), and ADI (Odds=1.057 (1.015-1.100) p=0.007).
CONCLUSIONS: The severity of smoking is related to higher
anxiety scores, anxiety sensitivity, and distress intolerance in patients
with chronic pain. Therefore, interventions targeting anxiety, anxiety
sensitivity, distress intolerance, and effective pain treatment may benefit
patients with chronic pain overcome nicotine dependence.