Deciphering the Code

Egyptian symbols

Inadequate pain phenotyping contributes to the persisting individual differences in health outcomes. An abundance of publications indicate inconsistent and conflictual findings between chronic pain measures and biological measures. Across disease conditions, stages of severity are identified. We developed a measure of chronic pain severity, chronic pain stage, to address existing limitations in the characterization of chronic pain in research. Applying physiological principles, four domains of chronic pain are included in the measure: frequency, intensity, duration, and total pain sites. We have confirmed the combined domains are stronger than any single domain. Ranging from 1-5, chronic pain stage differentiates between levels of chronic pain stimulating an adaptive response compared to stages of chronic pain contributing toward an allostatic load and eventual overload. Higher chronic pain stage is consistently associated with higher allostatic load, i.e., thinner brain cortex, a higher clinical stress system composite, and shorter telomere length. The conflicting findings between chronic pain measures and biological measures are resolved when the pain measure is based on physiological principles and an evidence-based theoretical model.


Associated Publications:

A Comprehensive Pain-Related Risk And Protective Index And Machine Learning Brain Age Gap. Abstract

Deciphering relationships between stress biomarkers and fibromyalgia syndrome with implications relevant to other chronic pain conditions. PMID: 38100365

Chronic Pain Severity and Sociodemographics: An Evaluation of the Neurobiological Interface. PMID: 34425249

Relationships Between Chronic Pain Stage, Cognition, Temporal Lobe Cortex, and Sociodemographic Variables. PMID: 33720889

Accelerated Aging in Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis Pain: Consideration for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Total Pain Sites. PMID: 29392207

Investigating the Burden of Chronic Pain: Inflammatory and Metabolic Composite. PMID: 27445627