Exploring the Impact of Pain Intensity, Acceptance, and Catastrophizing on Psychological Distress in Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationships between pain intensity, pain acceptance, pain catastrophizing, and psychological distress in Egyptian cancer patients with chronic pain.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 406 adult cancer patients experiencing chronic pain. Participants completed the Numeric Rating Scale for pain intensity, the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Multiple linear regression analysis identified predictors of psychological distress.

RESULTS

Participants had a mean age of 47.8 years (SD = 12.3), with most being male (63.5%), married (50.2%), and having at least a diploma-level education (87.9%). Psychological distress was prevalent, affecting 88.4% of participants, with 19.7% reporting severe distress. Pain intensity (B = 0.498, p = 0.007) and pain acceptance (B = -0.260, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of psychological distress, while pain catastrophizing was not significant when controlling for other factors. Employment status, chronic-illness comorbidities, smoking status, advanced cancer stage, and a gynecological cancer diagnosis were also significant predictors, explaining 50.5% of the variance in distress.

DISCUSSION: The high prevalence of psychological distress highlights the need for integrated pain management that addresses physical and psychosocial factors. Pain acceptance emerged as a protective factor, supporting acceptance-based interventions to improve psychological outcomes in cancer patients with chronic pain.