Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

12-2022

Abstract

Increasing evidence suggests a close association between chronic pain and executive function, a set of cognitive processes necessary for goal-directed behaviors. However, there is a dearth of longitudinal studies examining the predictive effect of executive function on the development of chronic pain. Drawing on the cyclical model of executive function and health, we sought to examine how executive function, measured at baseline, may predict chronic pain etiology approximately 9 years later. Using a large-scale dataset of midlife adults (N = 1553) from the MIDUS 2 and 3 (Midlife Development in the United States) studies, we employed multivariate logistic regression to examine the etiology of new chronic pain for individuals who did not have chronic pain at baseline. Further, we also tested whether executive function predicted the degree of pain interference, among individuals with chronic pain. Our results revealed that lower baseline executive function was associated with a significant likelihood of developing chronic pain 9 years later (OR = 0.812, p = .001), even after adjusting for demographics, health, and psychosocial confounds (OR = 0.827, p = .014). However, executive function failed to robustly predict the etiology and degree of chronic pain interference. Our findings underscore the critical role of executive function on the development of chronic pain.

Keywords

Chronic pain, Executive function, Older adults

Discipline

Health Psychology | Pain Management

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Social Science & Medicine

Volume

314

First Page

1

Last Page

9

ISSN

0277-9536

Identifier

10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115478

Publisher

Elsevier

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115478

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