Environmental and sociocultural factors are associated with pain-related brain structure among diverse individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain: intersectional considerations

Lisa H Domenico; Jared J Tanner; Angela M Mickle; Ellen L Terry; Cynthia Garvan; Song Lai; Hrishikesh Deshpande; Roland Staud; David Redden; Catherine C Price; Burel R Goodin; Roger B Fillingim; Kimberly T Sibille

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-58120-9

Environmental and sociocultural factors are associated with pain-related brain structure among diverse individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain: intersectional considerations

Sci Rep. 2024 Apr 2;14(1):7796. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-58120-9.

Authors

Lisa H Domenico¹, Jared J Tanner², Angela M Mickle^{3

4}, Ellen L Terry^{5

3}, Cynthia Garvan⁶, Song Lai⁷, Hrishikesh Deshpande⁸, Roland Staud⁹, David Redden¹⁰, Catherine C Price², Burel R Goodin^{11

12}, Roger B Fillingim^{3

13}, Kimberly T Sibille^{4

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing, University of Florida, 1225 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA. [email protected].
² Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, 1225 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32603, USA.
³ Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence, University of Florida, 2004 Mowry Road, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
⁴ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Florida, 3450 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL, 32607, USA.
⁵ Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, College of Nursing, University of Florida, 1225 Center Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
⁶ Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, University of Florida, 1600 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
⁷ Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, 2000 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
⁸ Department of Radiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 619 19th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
⁹ Department of Rheumatology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, 1600 SW Archer Rd, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Blvd #327, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
¹¹ Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Campbell Hall 415, 1300 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL, 35223, USA.
¹² Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University, 660 S Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
¹³ Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science, University of Florida College of Dentistry, 1329 SW 16th Street, Gainesville, FL, 32610-3628, USA.

Abstract

Chronic musculoskeletal pain including knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Previous research indicates ethnic-race groups differ in the pain and functional limitations experienced with knee OA. However, when socioenvironmental factors are included in analyses, group differences in pain and function wane. Pain-related brain structures are another area where ethnic-race group differences have been observed. Environmental and sociocultural factors e.g., income, education, experiences of discrimination, and social support influence brain structures. We investigate if environmental and sociocultural factors reduce previously observed ethnic-race group differences in pain-related brain structures. Data were analyzed from 147 self-identified non-Hispanic black (NHB) and non-Hispanic white (NHW), middle and older aged adults with knee pain in the past month. Information collected included health and pain history, environmental and sociocultural resources, and brain imaging. The NHB adults were younger and reported lower income and education compared to their NHW peers. In hierarchical multiple regression models, sociocultural and environmental factors explained 6-37% of the variance in pain-related brain regions. Self-identified ethnicity-race provided an additional 4-13% of explanatory value in the amygdala, hippocampus, insula, bilateral primary somatosensory cortex, and thalamus. In the rostral/caudal anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, self-identified ethnicity-race was not a predictor after accounting for environmental, sociocultural, and demographic factors. Findings help to disentangle and identify some of the factors contributing to ethnic-race group disparities in pain-related brain structures. Numerous arrays of environmental and sociocultural factors remain to be investigated. Further, the differing sociodemographic representation of our NHB and NHW participants highlights the role for intersectional considerations in future research.

Keywords: Environmental; Ethnicity-race; Musculoskeletal pain; Neuroimaging; Sociocultural.

MeSH terms

Aged
Black or African American
Brain* / anatomy & histology
Ethnicity
Humans
Middle Aged
Musculoskeletal Pain*
White

Abstract

MeSH terms

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