Background & Aims

Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (COPCs) affect the lives and alter the course of adulthood for many young adults (1-2). Although long-lasting fatigue is associated with COPCs (3-4), no study to our knowledge has shown how fatigue impacts future pain variables or cognitive functioning in young adults with COPCs. The aim of this study was to test cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships of fatigue with COPCs, pain, and perceived cognitive functioning in this population.

Methods

Fifty-one young adults (ages 18-34, Mean age=27.24, SD=4.43; 92.2% female) with COPCs provided baseline data on fatigue, pain intensity, and number of COPCs and then provided pain intensity, pain interference, and perceived cognitive functioning data for 14 consecutive days. Data from all days were averaged for each person.

Results

Univariate analyses revealed that baseline fatigue was associated with greater number of COPCs (r=.60, p<.001) at baseline and greater pain intensity at baseline (r=.42, p=.002). Longitudinally, fatigue predicted average pain intensity (r=.43, p=.002) and pain interference (r=.41, p=.003) over 14 days. However, these relationships became nonsignificant when controlling for baseline pain intensity or number of COPCs (all p’s>.05). No significant associations were found for perceived cognitive functioning (r=.18, p=.21).

Conclusions

Results suggest that fatigue may be associated with pain intensity variables in COPCs. Still, future work is needed to establish causal models of how these factors are connected.

References

1. Ohrbach R, Sharma S, Fillingim RB, Greenspan JD, Rosen JD, Slade GD. Clinical characteristics of pain among five chronic overlapping pain conditions. J Oral Facial pain headache. 2020 Jan 1;34(Suppl):s29-42.
2. Schrepf, A., Maixner, W., Fillingim, R., Veasley, C., Ohrbach, R., Smith, S., & Williams, D. A. (2024). The Chronic Overlapping Pain Condition Screener. The Journal of Pain, 25(1), 265-272.
3. Boggero, I. A., Rojas-Ramirez, M. V., & Carlson, C. R. (2017). All fatigue is not created equal: The association of fatigue and its subtypes on pain interference in orofacial pain. The Clinical journal of pain, 33(3), 231.
4. Boggero, I. A., Pickerill, H. M., & King, C. D. (2022). Fatigue in Adults with Chronic Arthralgia/Myalgia in the Temporomandibular Region: Associations with Poor Sleep Quality, Depression, Pain Intensity, and Future Pain Interference. Journal of Oral & Facial Pain & Headache, 36(2).

Presenting Author

Ian A. Boggero

Poster Authors

Ian Boggero

PhD

University of Kentucky College of Dentistry

Lead Author

E-mail

Topics

  • Specific Pain Conditions/Pain in Specific Populations: Nociplastic and chronic widespread pain