Dr. Adams' Alabama Headache Blog

519 subjects were selected at random from a pool of 5,000 patients attending a multidisciplinary facial pain center. Pain was measured by a pain scored questionnaire composed of 20 Visual Analogue Scales (VAS). Ten pain sites were monitored, each by a VAS for the right and left sides. Possible scores were 0-10 for each VAS and 0-20 for each site with left and right scores combined. A global pain score for each site was obtained by adding scores of all ten sites yielding a maximum possible score of 200. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between reported pain and three dimensions of the SCL-90 (somatization, anxiety, and depression) and the globak score of the SF-36. Although pain was significantly correlated with Somatization (r=0.52), Anxiety (r=0.31) and Depression (r=0.36), the coefficient of determination was relatively weak for each (r=27), 0.10, and 0.11 respectively). Pain was not correlated the SF-36 global score (r=0.015). On the other hand, Somatization scores were significantly correlated to Anxiety (r=0.66, r=0.44), Depression (r=0.71, r=50) and Anxiety significantly correlated with Depression (r=0.82, r=0.67) with strong coefficients of determination. In order to ascertain whether high pain patients responded differently than low pain patients, patients were divided into two groups: total pain scores of less than 50 were placed in the Moderate pain group (mean 28.5) and total pain scores of => 50 were placed in the Severe pain group (mean 83.9). In all three measures of the SCL-90, the Severe pain patients scored significantly higher than the Moderate pain patients (p< 0.0001) but in all eight dimensions of the SF-36 there was no difference between Severe and Moderate pain responses. The scores of the three dimensions of the SCL-90, Somatization, Anxiety, and Depression, suggested by Dworkin et al. are sensitive to differences in pain intensity while none of the dimensions of the SF-36 are. In addition, scores of the 3 SCL-90 scales are strongly intercorrelated.