Comorbidity between psychiatric disorders and chronic pain

The term comorbidity refers to the coexistence of an index disease with another clinical entity. Comorbidity between chronic pain and psychiatric pathology as delineated on Axis I and II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is reviewed here.The literature indicates that this type of comorbidity is common in chronic pain patients (CPPs).The most common groups of comorbid psychiatric disorders found within CPPs are affective disorders, substance-related disorders, and personality disorders. A number of other psychiatric disorder comorbidities should also be present within CPPs, but these have not yet been researched. Finally, the importance of psychiatric comorbidities to chronic pain treatment is discussed.