PAIN AND DISABILITY IN FAMILIES OF CHRONIC NONCANCER PAIN PATIENTS

The authors conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the prevale nce of chronic noncancer pain or disability in first-degree relatives of patients who had sustained a physically traumatic injury with resul tant chronic pain. A control group of general internal medicine patien ts was also interviewed about existence in their family of chronic pai n or of disability: either pain-related or related to nonpainful chron ic illness. None of the control patients were themselves experiencing acute or chronic pain. There was no statistically significant differen ce between the two groups in the prevalence of chronic pain or disabil ity in family members. The study's findings suggest that chronic nonca ncer pain patients should not be viewed as a uniform group with regard to learned behaviors and/or familial aggregation.