ANXIETY SENSITIVITY - ITS RELATIONSHIP TO FUNCTIONAL STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PAIN

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety-related bodily sensati ons based on the belief that they are harmful. The purpose of this stu dy was to examine how AS contributes to functional status in chronic p ain populations. This study examined the relationship between function al status and AS, demographic, work-related, and pain-related variable s in 88 chronic pain patients. Dependent measures of functional status were the SF-36 scabs for physical functioning, mental health, vitalit y, and social functioning. Variables were entered into regression anal yses according to category. Significant variables were included in sub sequent regressions. AS significantly contributed to lower levels of v itality and poorer social functioning, and was the only variable to si gnificantly contribute to poorer psychological functioning. These resu lts suggest that AS plays an important rob in several aspects of funct ioning in chronic pain patients, and therefore may be a useful concept to be included in pain assessment batteries.