STRESS, DEPRESSION AND LEFT-SIDED PSYCHOGENIC CHEST PAIN

Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate th e relationships between stress, depression and psychogenic pain. Three groups (the coronary heart disease (CHD) group; the left-sided psycho genic chest pain (LPCP) group; and the control group) comprising 30 pa tients per group, each completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), as a measure of stress; the Schedule of Recent Experience, to document the recency of actual life events experienced as listed in th e SRRS; and the Beck Depression Inventory, as a measure of the severit y of depression. Separate analyses of the variables stress and depress ion failed to yield significant stress differences in the 3 groups, bu t the LPCP group was significantly more depressed than the CHD and con trol groups. Factor analysis, however, indicated that the stress profi les were significantly different in each of the 3 groups. This study i ndicates that the condition of LPCP shares a similar depressive profil e to other psychogenic pain conditions and further lends support to th e hypothesis linking psychogenic pain to depressive disorders.