title: Physical pain and associated clinical characteristics in treatment-seeking patients in four substance use disorder treatment modalities.
abstract: Physical pain among persons seeking treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) and characteristics associated with pain were examined in a secondary analysis of data from the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS), a multi-site treatment outcome study. Patients (N = 7,876) in four treatment modalities - long-term residential (LTR), short-term inpatient (STI), outpatient methadone treatment (OMT), and outpatient drug-free (ODF) - reported severity of physical pain experienced during the preceding 12 months. Moderate to severe physical pain was reported by 21.2% of LTR patients, 26.8% of STI patients, 33.6% of OMT patients, and 17.6% of ODF patients. Individuals with and without physical pain were compared across treatment modalities. Patients with pain were more likely to report weekly heroin use [aOR = 1.73 (1.44-2.08)], weekly narcotics use [aOR = 1.43 (1.18-1.74)] and greater depressive symptoms [aOR = 1.30 (1.21-1.38)]. These findings support the presence of a sizable proportion of SUD patients with pain who may benefit from pain assessment as part of their SUD treatment.
authors.affiliation: McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02478, USA. jennifer potter@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer Sharpe
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.forename: Kristi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prather
authors.forename: Roger D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009294:Narcotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D008691:Methadone