Study Explores Relationship Between Pain and Cognitive Impairment | NCCIH

Study Explores Relationship Between Pain and Cognitive Impairment | NCCIH

Study Explores Relationship Between Pain and Cognitive Impairment

A recent study exploring the association between pain and cognitive impairment (CI) found that pain and CI each increase the severity of the other; that is, when pain progresses from acute pain to high impact chronic pain (HICP), the severity of CI increases, and as the severity of CI increases, the severity of pain increases. Further, the study found that people with comorbid chronic pain and CI are in a much higher state of self-reported disability than people with either alone. The study, published in a recent issue of The Clinical Journal of Pain, was supported by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).