SOCIAL PHOBIA IN DISABLED WORKERS WITH CHRONIC MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN

The present study assessed the prevalence and impact of social phobia and other anxiety disorders in disabled workers with chronic musculosk eletal pain. Potential participants were 200 disabled workers consecut ively referred to an interdisciplinary tertiary care centre. A two sta ge screening process was used in which: (a) a self-report battery was given during a pre-admission visit, and (b) preplanned selection crite ria were applied to the self-report instruments to select patients for a structured diagnostic interview. Fifty-four of the 146 patients who provided complete responses on the self-report battery met criteria f or interview. Twenty-six patients (17.8%) met DSM-IV criteria for a cu rrent anxiety disorder and, of these, 16 (11.0%) were diagnosed with s ocial phobia. Subjects with social phobia rated themselves as having l ess social support than subjects with no psychiatric disorder, but the groups did not differ in pain-related life interference, personal con trol, or health care utilization. The results suggest that social phob ia is over-represented in disabled workers with chronic musculoskeleta l pain and should be noted as a comorbid condition that may compound b oth suffering and disability. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd