Characteristics of pain experienced in major depression

Background: Even if growing attention is given to pain experienced in depression, the problem still remains poorly recognised. A proportion of the publications are based on outdated diagnostic criteria (ICD-9, DSM-III-R), which were substituted in 1992 and 1994 by ICD-10 and DSM-IV. Attempting to fill certain gaps in the knowledge on pain in depression and to update the data, we decided to conduct investigations on the problem in a group of patients with various forms of major depression. Aims: We firstly aimed at characterising the pain, its duration, location and intensity and secondly to evaluate the relations between major depression and the pain experienced. Material: Sixty patients treated in psychiatric wards due to an episode of major depression or due to an episode of depression in the course of the bipolar disorder, according to the criteria of DSM-IV. Methods: Anamnesis, psychiatric examination, computerized ICD-10 symptom checklist, Beck's Depression Inventory, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, McGill Pain questionnaire and the verbal scale of pain. Conclusions: 1) In the studied group experiences of pain were quite pronounced, most frequently involved the head and frequently preceded manifestation of fully symptomatic depression; 2) No strict, significant relationship could be disclosed between intensity of the experienced pain on one hand and severity of depression on the other.