Chronic Pain and DepressionAmong Primary Care Patients Treated with Buprenorphine

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Pain and depression are each prevalent among opioid dependent patients receiving maintenance buprenorphine, but their interaction has not been studied in primary care patients. OBJECTIVE We set out to examine the relationship between chronic pain, depression, and ongoing substance use, among persons maintained on buprenorphine in primary care settings. DESIGN Between September 2012 and December 2013, we interviewed buprenorphine patients at three practice sites. PARTICIPANTS Opioid dependent persons at two private internal medicine offices and a federally qualified health center participated in the study. MAIN MEASURES Pain was measured in terms of chronicity, with chronic pain being defined as pain lasting at least 6 months; and in terms of severity, as measured by self-reported pain in the past week, measured on a 0–100 scale. We defined mild chronic pain as pain severity between 0 and 39 and lasting at least 6 months, and moderate/severe chronic pain as severity ≥ 40 and lasting at least 6 months. To assess depression, we used the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) ten-item symptom scale and the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2). KEY RESULTS Among 328 participants, 169 reported no chronic pain, 56 reported mild chronic pain, and 103 reported moderate/severe chronic pain. Participants with moderate/severe chronic pain commonly used non-opioid pain medications (56.3 %) and antidepressants (44.7 %), yet also used marijuana, alcohol, or cocaine (40.8 %) to help relieve pain. Mean CESD scores were 7.1 (±6.8), 8.3 (±6.0), and 13.6 (±7.6) in the no chronic, mild, and moderate/severe pain groups, respectively. Controlling for covariates, higher CESD scores were associated with a higher likelihood of moderate/severe chronic pain relative to both no chronic pain (OR = 1.09, p