scholarly journals Does Experience Influence Judgements of Pain Behaviour? Evidence from Relatives of Pain Patients and Therapists

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth M Prkachin ◽  
Patty Solomon ◽  
Teresa Hwang ◽  
Susan R Mercer

OBJECTIVE: Judgments about an individual's pain can be profoundly important to sufferers. Relatively few studies have examined variables that may affect observers' judgments of the pain of others. The present article reports two studies investigating the relationship between different kinds of exposure to pain problems and observers' ratings of the pain intensity of patients.DESIGN: In the first study, 82 observers were classified into groups with positive and negative family histories of chronic pain. They viewed a videotape showing the facial expressions of shoulder pain patients undergoing physiotherapy assessments and rated the pain experienced by the subjects. In the second study, the data from observers having no experience with pain problems were compared with data collected from therapists having considerable experience with pain problems.RESULTS: Observers with a positive family history of chronic pain attributed greater pain to the patients than those with a negative family history of chronic pain. Professionals' pain judgments were lower than those of control subjects.CONCLUSIONS: Together, the findings imply that one's experiences with the different problems of pain patients may affect pain judgments. Alternative interpretations of the findings are considered.

1990 ◽  
Vol 258 (6) ◽  
pp. C988-C994 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Takaya ◽  
N. Lasker ◽  
R. Bamforth ◽  
M. Gutkin ◽  
L. H. Byrd ◽  
...  

To explore the etiology of altered Ca metabolism in essential hypertension, we studied parameters, i.e., maximal initial reaction velocity (Vmax) and Michaelis constant (Km), of Ca activation kinetics of Ca2(+)-ATPase in membrane fractions (isolated by a sucrose gradient) from platelets of blacks and whites, 27 of whom were essential hypertensives, 17 of whom were normotensives with a family history of essential hypertension, and 10 of whom were normotensives without a family history of the disease. The Vmax of hypertensives was significantly lower than in normotensives without a family history of essential hypertension (hypertensives, 14.99 +/- 1.71 nmol Pi.mg protein-1.min-1; normotensives, positive family history, 22.67 +/- 3.17 nmol Pi.mg protein-1.min-1; normotensives, negative family history, 27.54 +/- 4.37 nmol Pi.mg protein-1.min-1; overall, P = 0.0078). The Km was lower in both hypertensives and normotensives with a positive family history of essential hypertension as compared with normotensives with a negative family history of the disease (hypertensives, 1.70 +/- 0.23 microM; normotensives, positive family history, 1.38 +/- 0.2 microM; normotensives, negative family history, 2.79 +/- 0.58 microM; overall, P = 0.0251). Furthermore, the Km in whites was inversely related to plasma renin activity (r = 0.50; P less than 0.005). We propose that a lower Vmax for Ca2(+)-ATPase may play a role in the higher level of free Ca in platelets of essential hypertensives and that a higher affinity of the enzyme to Ca may reflect a process compensating for the lower Vmax. We also suggest that a higher Km for Ca2(+)-ATPase in juxtaglomerular cells of whites would result in blunting the release of renin.


2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross M. G. Norman ◽  
Ashok K. Malla

Objective: It has been hypothesized that patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia who have a positive family history for schizophrenia will show greater reactivity of their symptoms to increasing levels of stress or negative affect than will patients without such a family history. In the past this hypothesis has only been tested through manipulations of negative affect in laboratory settings. In this paper we test this hypothesis using longitudinal clinical data. Method: Data were derived from an earlier longitudinal study using monthly assessments of daily stressors (Hassles Scale) and symptom measures (the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms). We compared longitudinal stress to symptom relations in 12 patients with schizophrenia for whom a positive family history of schizophrenia could be identified with 12 matched schizophrenic patients without any known family history of psychiatric illness. Results: There was evidence that patients with a family history of schizophrenia demonstrated a stronger relation between stress and total score on the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms. This difference appears to have primarily reflected a greater reactivity to stress of reality distortion symptoms in the positive family history group. The two groups did not differ in apparent reactivity to stress of the disorganization and psychomotor poverty dimensions of symptomatology. Conclusions: The results of this study provide support from a naturalistic, longitudinal clinical study for the hypothesis that reactivity to stress of some symptoms of schizophrenia may vary as a function of family history of the disorder.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-82
Author(s):  
Mst Musarrat Sultana ◽  
Md Shafiqul Islam ◽  
Md Sanaul Haque Mia

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is a familial hemolytic disorder with marked heterogeneity of clinical features, ranging from asymptomatic condition to a fulminant hemolytic anemia. Although a positive family history of spherocytosis increases the risk for this disorder, it may be sporadic in some case. A 22-month old girl was admitted in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital with pallor and jaundice. Her parents gave history of repeated episodes of pallor and jaundice since 8 month of age with negative family history. Blood film showed plenty of spherocytes, reticulocytosis of 15.0%, negative direct antiglobulin test& positive osmotic fragility test. She was managed conservatively on nutritional supplements& one unit of blood transfusion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of hereditary spherocytosis from Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.TAJ 2017; 30(2): 79-82


2019 ◽  
pp. 204946371986687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Mazidi ◽  
Mohsen Dehghani ◽  
Louise Sharpe ◽  
Behrooz Dolatshahi ◽  
Seyran Ranjbar ◽  
...  

Introduction: This study investigated the time course of attention to pain and examined the moderating effect of attentional control in the relationship between pain catastrophizing and attentional bias in chronic pain patients. Methods: A total of 28 patients with chronic pain and 29 pain-free individuals observed pictures of pain, happy and neutral facial expressions while their gaze behaviour was recorded. Pain intensity and duration, anxiety, depression, stress, attentional control and pain catastrophizing were assessed by questionnaires. Results: In all subjects, the pattern of attention for pain faces was characterized by initial vigilance, followed by avoidance. No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of orientation towards the stimuli, the duration of first fixation, the average duration of fixation or number of fixations on the pain stimuli. Attentional control moderated the relationship between catastrophizing and overall dwell time for happy faces in pain patients, indicating that those with high attentional control and high catastrophizing focused more on happy faces, whereas the reverse was true for those with low attentional control. Conclusion: This study supported the vigilance–avoidance pattern of attention to painful facial expressions and a moderation effect of attentional control in the association between pain catastrophizing and attentional bias to happy faces among pain patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Ruban ◽  
Adam Slavick ◽  
Achiya Amir ◽  
Amir Ben-Tov ◽  
Hadar Moran-Lev ◽  
...  

Abstract The role of a positive family history in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the era of biologic therapy has not been elucidated. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of children with IBD and retrieved demographic and clinical characteristics, including the presence of a positive family history of IBD, IBD phenotype, disease course, and therapy. Overall, 325 children (age range at diagnosis 11-15 years) were included, of whom 82 (25.2%) had a positive family history. Children diagnosed during 2016-2020 had a higher frequency of positive family history compared to those diagnosed during 2010-2015 (31.8% versus 20.7%, respectively, p = 0.024). Children with a positive family history had a higher risk for a stricturing phenotype than those with a negative family history (11.3% versus 2.8%, respectively, p = 0.052). They more often received nutritional therapy (53.7% versus 36.6%, p = 0.007) and less often received corticosteroids (36.6% versus 52.7%, p = 0.012). More children with a negative family history needed intensification of biologic therapy (p = 0.041). Conclusion: The rate of a positive family history of IBD in the pediatric IBD population is increasing. A positive family history may have some impact upon IBD phenotype but none on IBD outcome.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ariane Viana ◽  
Danielle da Silva Dias ◽  
Mario Cesar Nascimento ◽  
Fernando dos Santos ◽  
Fernanda de Cordoba Lanza ◽  
...  

Aim. To evaluate cardiovascular, autonomic, and oxidative stress markers in eutrophic and overweight offspring of hypertensive parents comparing them to eutrophic and overweight offspring of normotensive parents. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study. We selected 71 male and sedentary subjects, divided into 4 groups: eutrophic group with a negative family history of hypertension (EH-, n=18) or positive family history of hypertension (EH+, n=17), overweight group with a negative family history of hypertension (OH-, n=19) or a positive family history of hypertension (OH+, n=17), and aged between 18 and 35 years. Results. Blood glucose was higher in the OH+ group when compared to other groups. Diastolic blood pressure was increased in OH- and OH+ groups when compared to eutrophic groups. Regarding the HRV, the LF abs was higher in OH- and OH+ groups when compared to the EH- group. LF/HF values were higher in EH+ and OH+ groups when compared to the EH- and OH- groups. As to oxidative stress and the metabolism of nitric oxide, we observed an increase in hydrogen peroxide and nitrite levels in the OH+ group, and in the NADPH oxidase in OH- and OH+ groups when compared to the other groups. Conclusion. Our findings demonstrate that the overweight group with a family history of hypertension presented all the dysfunctions observed in isolation from these risk factors. We observed an exacerbation of cardiac sympathetic modulation and early prooxidants increase, which may be associated with target organ damage and cardiovascular risk in this population.


Author(s):  
Ryan J. Uitti ◽  
Hitoshi Shinotoh ◽  
Margo Hayward ◽  
Michael Schulzer ◽  
Edwin Mak ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT:Background:Parkinson's disease (PD) patients frequently report a family history of PD and this may provide etiological clues to PD. It has also been suggested that a report of a negative family history is reliable. We studied the prevalence of PD in relatives of PD patients to assess the reliability of family history and to evaluate possible explanations of “familial PD”(fPD).Methods:81 of 650 (12.5%) PD probands (all PD patients seen at clinic in 4 years) reported a positive family history of PD. Each fPD proband was matched with non-familial PD (nfPD) proband by gender and year of birth. Screening and follow-up questionnaires were mailed to relatives to obtain information concerning pedigree and presence of neurodegenerative disease. Available family members (regardless of disease status) were examined.Results:On examination, 8 persons, said to be “normal” by probands, relatives and themselves, had definite or possible PD (5 fPD, 3 nfPD). The prevalence rate of PD among first and second degree living relatives of probands varied significantly between fPD and nfPD groups (6269/100 000 versus 1190/100 000; p < 0.001). The weighted prevalence (taking into account the proportions of fPD and nfPD within the clinic) was 1822/100 000, a value more than 5 times higher than reported prevalence rates of PD in the general population (p < 0.001). The prevalence rate was greater in first degree relatives than second degree.Conclusions:“Familial parkinsonism” cannot be explained merely by size of or advanced age within families. Significant numbers of previously unrecognized PD patients may be identified despite a “negative” family history. That is, the patient's report of an absence of familial parkinsonism is frequently inaccurate. The prevalence rate in relatives of PD patients appears to be higher than the general population – regardless of the family history reported by a PD patient. We believe our study suggests that genetic influences or early life environmental exposures are likely to be of etiological importance in PD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S262-S263
Author(s):  
M Ruban ◽  
S Cohen ◽  
A Yerushalmy-Feler

Abstract Background Previous studies have suggested that adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that have a positive family history of IBD may be at risk for a more aggressive clinical course, compared with sporadic cases. The role of a positive family history in paediatric IBD, however, has not been elucidated. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of children with IBD and retrieved demographic and clinical characteristics, including IBD phenotype, course and therapy. We have documented the presence of a positive family history of IBD, and compared the clinical data of children with a positive family history to that of children with a negative family history. Results Overall, 325 children with a median (IQR) age of 13.9 (11–15) years at diagnosis were included: 194 (59.7%) with Crohn’s disease (CD) and 131 (40.3%) with ulcerative colitis. A positive family history of IBD was observed in 82 children (25.2%). Of them, 36 (43.9%) had a first-degree family member with IBD, and 23 (28%) had more than one family member with IBD. Children with a positive family history had a higher risk for stricturing phenotype (11.3% versus 2.8%, P=0.05) and were treated more often by nutritional therapy (53.7% versus 36.6%, P=0.007) and less by corticosteroids (36.6% versus 52.7%, P=0.012). Children with a negative family history had a higher need to intensification of biologic therapy [Hazard ratio (HR)=1.792, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.005–3.195, P=0.041 and HR=2.597, 95% CI 1.224–5.525, P=0.008 for CD) (Figure 1). No difference in the risk for IBD exacerbation, hospitalization and operation was found between the groups. Conclusion A positive family history of IBD may have a mild impact on the phenotype and course of paediatric IBD.


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 369-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randy A Sansone ◽  
J David Sinclair ◽  
Michael W Wiederman

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Few studies have examined the relationship between disability and borderline personality symptomatology, and, among those that have, findings have been inconsistent. In the present study, the relationship between medical disability and borderline personality symptomatology was examined in a sample of chronic pain patients.METHODS: In a consecutive insured sample of male and female chronic pain patients (n=117), who were being initially evaluated by an outpatient pain specialist, the criterion of having “ever been on medical disability” and features of borderline personality disorder were examined using the borderline personality scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4.RESULTS: While 35% of participants acknowledged having ever been on medical disability, there was no statistically significant difference between those with a history versus those without a history of medical disability with regard to the prevalence of borderline personality symptomatology.CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that among chronic pain patients, there may be no meaningful relationship between having ever been on medical disability and borderline personality symptomatology.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 293-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Gauthier ◽  
Pascal Thibault ◽  
Michael JL Sullivan

The present study examined the relationship between couple concordance of catastrophizing and adverse pain outcomes. Possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between couple concordance of catastrophizing and pain outcomes were also explored. Fifty-eight couples were recruited for the study. The chronic pain patients were filmed while lifting a series of weighted canisters. The spouse was later invited to view the video and answer questions about the pain experience of their partner. Median splits on Pain Catastrophizing Scale scores were used to create four ‘catastrophizing concordance’ groups: low catastrophizing patient-low catastrophizing spouse; low catastrophizing patient-high catastrophizing spouse; high catastrophizing patient-low catastrophizing spouse; and high catastrophizing patient-high catastrophizing spouse. Analyses revealed that high catastrophizing pain patients who were in a relationship with a low catastrophizing spouse displayed more pain behaviours than patients in all other groups. These findings suggest that high catastrophizing chronic pain patients may need to increase the ‘volume’ of pain communication to compensate for low catastrophizing spouses’ tendency to underestimate the severity of their pain experience. Patients’ perceived solicitousness and punitive response from the spouse could not explain the group differences in pain behaviour. Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.


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