Does catastrophic thinking enhance oesophageal pain sensitivity? An experimental investigation

Abstract

Taken together, findings from the present study suggest that catastrophic thinking exerts an influence on oesophageal pain sensitivity, but not necessarily on the magnitude of acid-induced oesophageal sensitization. WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD?: Catastrophizing is associated with heightened pain sensitivity in the oesophagus. This was substantiated by assessing responses to noxious stimulation of the oesophagus using an experimental paradigm mimicking features and symptoms experienced by patients with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).

Kinesiophobia is associated with pain intensity but not pain sensitivity before and after exercise: an explorative analysis

“…This is supported by a previous study indicating that pain catastrophisation enhances pain via supraspinal processes [40]. However, Martel et al did find an association between pain catastrophisation and mechanical pain thresholds in the oesophagus in healthy subjects [41].…”

Exploring the Impact of Covid-19-Related Perceptions on Psychological Distress and Quality of Life in an International Gastrointestinal Cohort Over Time Guided by the Common Sense Model

“…Psychological distress was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995 ). The DASS-21 consists of 21 items (e.g., “I found it hard to wind down”), with 7 items assessing each subscale (depression, anxiety, and stress).…”

“…In the GI context, catastrophising can be defined as a tendency to overemphasise the threat value and, social and functional implications of GI-specific sensations and symptoms (Hunt, Ertel, Coello, & al., 2014). Catastrophising has been reported to be predictive of GI symptom severity, GI specific anxiety and QoL in IBS (Hunt et al, 2014(Hunt et al, , 2018McKinnon et al, 2015;Sherwin et al, 2016); functional disability and QoL in IBD (De Carlo et al, 2019;Wojtowicz et al, 2014); oesophageal pain sensitivity in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD; Martel et al, 2016); and to mediate improvement in QoL in cognitive behaviour therapy interventions for IBS (Hunt, Miguez, Dukas, Onwude, & White, 2021).…”

The Effect of Electrical Stimulation–Induced Pain on Time Perception and Relationships to Pain-Related Emotional and Cognitive Factors: A Temporal Bisection Task and Questionnaire–Based Study

“…The cognitive dimension of pain determines how individuals express and deal with pain (Williams et al, 2012). For example, some individuals facing pain tend to focus on and amplify its threat, engaging in pain-related catastrophic thinking (Sullivan et al, 1995), which can enhance the sensation of pain and is related closely to negative emotions such as fear and anxiety (Martel et al, 2016;Sugiura and Sugiura, 2016). The multidimensional nature of pain makes its impact on cognitive psychological processes, such as time perception, complex.…”