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Last updated: Thu, Aug 15, 2024
While 8% of the U.S. population is depressed, somewhere from 18 to 35% of chronic pain patients are depressed. About 6% of chronic pain patients have major depressive disorder. Anxiety disorders affect from 7 to 29% of chronic pain patients. Post-traumatic shock disorder has been reported to affect from 7 to 39% of chronic pain patients, a prevalence that is probably higher than in the general population.1
Among chronic pain patients in specialty care, 40 to 70% met criteria for the diagnosis of a personality disorder. Paranoid and borderline disorders were most common. Paranoid personality disorder is characterized by distrust and suspiciousness. Borderline personality disorder is characterized by problematic relationships, self-image, affect, and impulsivity.2 (Although chronic pain patients often receive these diagnoses, substantial research
suggests that personality disorder is often confused or confounded with anxiety and depression, which very often accompany chronic pain.3)
The risk of suicide among chronic patients is at least double that of the general population. Suicidal ideas affect about 20% of chronic pain patients. Risk factors include the type, the intensity, and the duration of the pain, along with sleep-onset insomnia.4
See Psychological Analysis of Pain Behaviors for more detail on these associated psychological conditions.