Patients with Chronic Pain: Are Mindfulness Traits Protective Against Distress, Anxiety and Depression?
Mario Miniati, Graziella Orrù, Mery Paroli, Maristella Cinque, Adriana Paolicchi, Angelo Gemignani, Giulio Perugi, Rebecca Ciacchini, Donatella Marazziti, Laura Palagini, Ciro Conversano
Clinical neuropsychiatry October 1, 2023 DOI: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20230505 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 50 |
| Population | Chronic pain patients (25 with non-oncologic pain, 25 with oncologic pain) |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Chronic pain Oncologic |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key findings | Chronic pain patients with high levels of mindfulness attitudes experienced less distress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and more physical and general wellbeing than patients with low levels of mindfulness attitudes. |
Abstract
To investigate mindfulness traits/attitudes as protective factors against chronic pain related distress, depression and anxiety. Fifty patients (25 with chronic non-oncologic pain-NOP; 25 with chronic oncologic pain-COP) were administered with the following scales: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Pain Disability Index (PDI), Italian Questionnaire for Pain (QUID), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), State and Trait Anxiety Scale (STAY-y1 module), Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Psychological General Well Being Index (PGWBI), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). MAAS value ≥ 4.38 was adopted as cut-off to compare 'high level of mindfulness' (HM) vs. 'normal level of mindfulness' (NM) attitudes. Twenty-six patients (52%) scored ≥4.38, with no different distribution between NOP and COP. HM patients scored significantly lower than NM patients on PDI 'family/home responsibilities' domain (4.5±3.2 vs. 6.4±2.8; p<.037), and on PSS (17.8±2.6 vs. 20.9±2.5; p<.0001), STAY-y1 (9.4±1.8 vs. 10.3±2.1; p<.0001), BDI-II (7.8±5.0 vs. 17.6±8.6; p<.0001) total scores. HM scored significantly higher than NM patients in all PGWBI domains. A multiple regression analysis was carried out to analyze the predictor variables of PGWB. The most complete model considered the variables MAAS, STAIy and VAS (F=42.21; p<.0001), that accounted for the 71.6% of PGWB variance. MAAS score was the only variable positively predicting for PGWB; STAIy and VAS scores predicted negatively. Chronic pain patients with high levels of mindfulness attitudes experienced less distress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and more physical and general wellbeing than patients with low levels of mindfulness attitudes.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety. International sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 985 |
| The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms Internet survey respondents reporting challenging experiences with psilocybin | 2016 | Questionnaire development and validation | |
| Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study Adult population in the United States | 2013 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 130,152 |
| Ecstasy/MDMA attributed problems reported by novice, moderate and heavy recreational users Ecstasy users who participated in a WWW study of recreational drug use | 2002 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 282 |
| 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety. Adults who used 5-MeO-DMT in a group setting with structured procedures | 2019 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 362 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- About Distress in Chronic Pain Conditions: A Pre-Post Study on the Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Fibromyalgia and Low Back Pain Patients. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health November 13, 2024
- The moderating role of extraversion in the relationship between trait mindfulness and pain adaptation Frontiers in Pain Research April 1, 2025
Cites 15
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Assessing adolescent mindfulness: Validation of an Adapted Mindful Attention Awareness Scale in adolescent normative and psychiatric populations. Psychological Assessment 2011
- A distinction between two instruments measuring dispositional mindfulness and the correlations between those measurements and the neuroanatomical structure Scientific Reports July 18, 2017
- An experimental study to inform adoption of mindfulness-based stress reduction in chronic low back pain. Implementation science communications August 6, 2022
and 10 more in the library