Effect of Alexithymia and Emotional Repression on Postsurgical Pain in Women With Breast Cancer: A Prospective Longitudinal 12-Month Study

Baudic, Sophie; Jayr, Christian; Albi-Feldzer, Aline; Fermanian, Jacques; Masselin-Dubois, Anne; Bouhassira, Didier; Attal, Nadine

doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2015.10.001

Cited by 48 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…identifying and describing emotions, is stimulated during MBI by fostering a more open and accepting way of relating to bodily sensations and emotional discomfort [8], patients with high levels of alexithymia could be hypothesized to experience greater treatment gains through the targeting of maladaptive pain cognitions in the intervention. Furthermore, higher levels of alexithymia have previously been found to predict persistent pain in breast cancer patients [13], and results from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) suggested that higher levels of alexithymia were associated with larger reductions in cancer-related distress in breast cancer patients [14]. However, the intervention investigated was Expressive Writing, and it remains unknown whether these results can be generalized to MBI.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical and psychological moderators of the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on persistent pain in women treated for primary breast cancer – explorative analyses from a randomized controlled trial

et al. 2017

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical and psychological moderators of the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on persistent pain in women treated for primary breast cancer – explorative analyses from a randomized controlled trial

et al. 2017

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“…An endoscopic approach for inguinal hernia surgery lowers the incidence of CPOP 28 but laparoscopic colorectal surgery does not 10 . For breast surgery, other known risk factors (radiotherapy 13, 20 and axillary dissection 17, 20 ) were confirmed, and the novel risk of alexithymia was determined 19 . In addition, studies are contradictory if breast reconstruction contributes to CPOP 13, 14 , and the exact relevance of catastrophizing has been called into question 19 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For breast surgery, other known risk factors (radiotherapy 13, 20 and axillary dissection 17, 20 ) were confirmed, and the novel risk of alexithymia was determined 19 . In addition, studies are contradictory if breast reconstruction contributes to CPOP 13, 14 , and the exact relevance of catastrophizing has been called into question 19 . After TKA, an interesting risk factor for the intensity of CPOP is having moderate preoperative pain, as opposed to high or low, which results in different pain trajectories 32 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2016, Baudic et al . established the presence of alexithymia (the inability to identify and express emotions) as a novel risk factor for CPOP 19 . They also found that catastrophizing was predictive of pain only until 2 months postoperatively, suggesting it is important in the transition from subacute pain to CPOP but not necessarily its maintenance 19 .…”

Section: Incidence and Risk Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…established the presence of alexithymia (the inability to identify and express emotions) as a novel risk factor for CPOP 19 . They also found that catastrophizing was predictive of pain only until 2 months postoperatively, suggesting it is important in the transition from subacute pain to CPOP but not necessarily its maintenance 19 . Also in 2016, a retrospective questionnaire found low income, presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and <46 months from the time of surgery as risks for CPOP after mastectomy 15 , and a meta-analysis established the CPOP risks as younger age, radiotherapy, axillary lymph node dissection, acute postoperative pain, and preoperative pain 20 .…”

Section: Incidence and Risk Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chronic postoperative pain: recent findings in understanding and management

Correll

2017

F1000Res

112

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Chronic postoperative pain is a poorly recognized potential outcome from surgery. It affects millions of patients every year, with pain lasting for months to years, resulting in patient suffering and ensuing economic consequences. The operations with the highest incidence of chronic postoperative pain are amputations, thoracotomies, cardiac surgery, and breast surgery. Other risk factors include preoperative pain, psychological factors, demographics, and the intensity of acute postoperative pain. Attempts to prevent chronic postoperative pain have often led to debatable results. This article presents data from recently published studies examining the incidence, risk factors, mechanisms, treatment options, and preventive strategies for chronic postoperative pain in adults. In summary, many of the previously identified risk factors for chronic postoperative pain have been confirmed and some novel ones discovered, such as the importance of the trajectory of acute pain and the fact that catastrophizing may not always be predictive. The incidence of chronic postoperative pain hasn’t changed over time, and there is limited new information regarding an effective preventive therapy. For example, pregabalin may actually cause more harm in certain surgeries. Further research is needed to demonstrate whether multimodal analgesic techniques have the best chance of significantly reducing the incidence of chronic postoperative pain and to determine which combination of agents is best for given surgical types and different patient populations.

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Emotions in search of words: Does alexithymia predict treatment outcome in chronic musculoskeletal pain?

Lanzara,

Conti,

Lalli

et al. 2024

Stress and Health

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Chronic pain, with its complex and multidimensional nature, poses significant challenges in identifying effective long‐term treatments. There is growing scientific interest in how psychopathological and personality dimensions may influence the maintenance and development of chronic pain. This longitudinal study aimed to investigate whether alexithymia can predict the improvement of pain severity following a treatment‐as‐usual programme for chronic musculoskeletal pain over and above psychological cofactors (emotional distress, catastrophizing, and self‐efficacy). A consecutive sample of 129 patients with diagnosed chronic musculoskeletal pain referred to two tertiary care centres was recruited and treated for 16 weeks. Clinical pain, psychological distress, self‐efficacy, catastrophizing, and alexithymia were assessed with validated self‐report measures at the first medical visit (T0) and at 16‐week follow‐up (T1). Compared with non‐responder patients (n = 72, 55.8%), those who responded (i.e., reduction of >30% in pain severity; n = 57, 44.2%) reported an overall improvement in psychological variables except alexithymia. Alexithymia showed relative stability between baseline and follow‐up within the entire sample and remained a significant predictor of treatment outcome even when other predictive cofactors (i.e., pain interference, depressive symptoms, and catastrophizing) were considered simultaneously. Our results suggest that identifying patients with a co‐occurrence between alexithymia, depressive symptoms, catastrophizing, and the stressful experience of chronic pain can be clinically relevant in pain prevention and intervention programs.

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Effect of Alexithymia and Emotional Repression on Postsurgical Pain in Women With Breast Cancer: A Prospective Longitudinal 12-Month Study

Cited by 48 publications

References 66 publications

Clinical and psychological moderators of the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on persistent pain in women treated for primary breast cancer – explorative analyses from a randomized controlled trial

Clinical and psychological moderators of the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on persistent pain in women treated for primary breast cancer – explorative analyses from a randomized controlled trial

Chronic postoperative pain: recent findings in understanding and management

Emotions in search of words: Does alexithymia predict treatment outcome in chronic musculoskeletal pain?

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