Abstract

The association between chronic pain and mental disorders is a determining factor of the disease evolution and requires a comprehensive approach in patients. OBJECTIVE: evaluate the prevalence of mental disorders in patients with chronic pain who use the service of Neurology at the National Clinical Hospital, Cordoba, Argentina. METHODOLOGY: the study included patients with chronic pain who used the Neurology service, National Clinical Hospital in Cordoba, Argentina, selected from a validated form that contains the appropriate clinical criteria. Mental disorders were evaluated in a sample of 351 patients through the CIDI 3.0. The interviewers were properly trained to implement it. Data were analyzed using InfoStat® statistical software. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 41.94±2.02 years, ranging from 20 to 65, 88.32% being women. It showed that 50.98% of the consultants for chronic pain had an episode of mental disorders throughout their life. Thus, the lifetime prevalence for affective disorders was 29.4% and neurotic disorders, stress related disorders and somatoform disorders was 41.2%. CONCLUSION: The results contributed to identify the background frequency and characteristics of mental disorders in patients presenting with chronic pain in a service of Neurology, requiring the need to implement a comprehensive clinical intervention, and to continue the research to assess concurrent comorbidity of both conditions. PMID: 27107281