Physical pain and associated clinical characteristics in treatment-seeking patients in four substance use disorder treatment modalities

Am J Addict. 2008 Mar-Apr;17(2):121-5. doi: 10.1080/10550490701862902.

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.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Alcoholism / epidemiology
  • Alcoholism / rehabilitation
  • Ambulatory Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Chronic Disease
  • Comorbidity
  • Depression / diagnosis
  • Depression / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Health Surveys
  • Heroin Dependence / epidemiology*
  • Heroin Dependence / rehabilitation
  • Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Length of Stay / statistics & numerical data
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Methadone / therapeutic use
  • Narcotics / therapeutic use
  • Opioid-Related Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Opioid-Related Disorders / rehabilitation
  • Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care
  • Pain / diagnosis
  • Pain / epidemiology*
  • Pain Measurement
  • Prognosis
  • Prospective Studies
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • United States

Substances

  • Narcotics
  • Methadone