Prevalence and features of chronic pain among patients with schizophrenia

Background: People with schizophrenia generally refrain from manifesting somatic symptoms, and may not complain of pain. Therefore these patients may have an insensitivity to pain. Aim: To determine the prevalence of chronic pain in a sample of patients with schizophrenia. Patients and Methods: The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) was answered by 79 outpatients with schizophrenia with a mean age of 47 years (67% men) attended at a public hospital in Chile. Results: Chronic pain, defined as lasting more than six months, was reported by 15.2 % of patients. Acute pain was reported by 63% of patients. No significant differences were observed in sociodemographic characteristics or duration of illness between patients with acute or chronic pain. The assessment of the different pain dimensions showed a predominance of sensory and affective components, with pain rating indexes of 0.82 and 0.71, respectively. Conclusions: These results indicate that the prevalence of pain among people with schizophrenia, is similar to that of the general population.