Assessing the Relationship Between Chronic Pain and Cognition: A NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the associations between current chronic pain and cognition and current chronic head pain and cognition in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

SETTING

Community.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1762 participants from the TBI Model Systems who endorsed experiencing current chronic pain and who completed the Current Chronic Pain survey.

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of a subset of data collected through a multi-site, cross-sectional observational cohort study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cognition as measured by the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT).

RESULTS

Individuals with TBI who reported current chronic pain exhibited lower cognitive performance compared to those who reported no pain. Among individuals who reported pain, greater pain intensity and pain interference were negatively associated with cognition, resulting in poorer cognitive performance. The negative association was even greater for individuals acknowledging chronic head pain compared to pain from other body locations.

CONCLUSION

The negative association between current chronic pain and cognition for individuals with TBI indicates the need to consider pain intensity and pain interference as factors possibly influencing cognitive ability.