Chronic pain and depression. IV. DST as a discriminator between chronic pain and depression.

In an attempt to clarify the relationship between chronic pain and depression, the authors studied the plasma cortisol response to dexamethasone in a group of 73 consecutive chronic low back pain patients admitted to a pain unit and 34 consecutive patients admitted to an affective disorders unit with the principal diagnosis of primary major depression. Patients with chronic pain were evaluated as to the presence or absence of major depression and patients with primary major depression were evaluated as to the presence or absence of pain complaints as part of their presenting symptomatology. Chronic pain patients with major depression differed significantly from chronic pain patients without major depression (3.

Chronic pain and depression. II. Symptoms of anxiety in chronic low back pain patients and their relationship to subtypes of depression.

The relationship between anxiety and chronic pain has been poorly studied. The authors studied the occurrence of symptoms of anxiety in chronic low back pain patients. Anxious mood and other symptoms of anxiety were commonly seen in patients with chronic low back pain.

Chronic pain and depression. I. Classification of depression in chronic low back pain patients.

An association between chronic pain and depression has been recognized for a long time. However, the exact nature of this relationship remains unclear. The authors studied 71 patients for affective disorders and schizophrenia-lifetime version (SADS-L).

The dexamethasone suppression test as a biologic marker of depression in chronic pain.

The relationship between chronic pain and depression has become enmeshed in the literature. In an attempt to unravel the relationship between chronic pain and depression, the authors studied a uniform group of 80 chronic back pain patients with and without depression using the dexamethasone suppression test (DST). The DST examines the hypothalamic response to an exogenously administered steroid (dexamethasone) challenge.