Named an unexpected source of pain in people

Researchers from University College London have revealed a disturbing connection: in middle-aged and elderly people, depression begins to progress a full eight years before the onset of chronic pain and continues to intensify after its emergence. The results of this important study are published in the authoritative journal EClinicalMedicine.

A large-scale analysis, covering more than 3,600 participants over 50 years of age, revealed a surprising pattern: people who subsequently faced chronic pain syndrome showed signs of deteriorating psycho-emotional state long before its appearance. Depression symptoms reached maximum intensity at the moment of pain manifestation and remained at a high level thereafter. In the control group without pain syndrome, the level of depression remained consistently low throughout the entire observation period.

Scientists discovered a similar dynamic regarding feelings of loneliness – it steadily increased both in the period preceding the onset of pain and after its beginning. Notably, the groups hardly differed in the number of social contacts. This led researchers to think that the decisive role is played not by the quantity, but by the quality of social interactions.

"We knew that pain and depression mutually reinforce each other, but now it turns out that deterioration of mental state often precedes pain. This opens up possibilities for early prevention," emphasized the lead author of the study, Dr. Michaela Bloomberg.

The study also revealed social inequality in the manifestation of this pattern: psycho-emotional deterioration before the onset of pain was significantly more pronounced in people with low socio-economic status and education level. Scientists attribute this to limited access to psychological and medical assistance resources and insist on the need to direct preventive measures primarily to these vulnerable population groups.