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Individual Differences in Pain in Various Populations

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 8543

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Masataka Umeda

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Guest Editor

Department of Kinesiology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, 78249, San Antonio, TX, USA
Interests: physical activity; pain; descending pain inhibitory processing; cardiovascular system; fibromyalgia

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pain affects any individuals at any life stages, and often leads to significant reductions of their quality of life and functions. While research has advanced our knowledge on pain over the decades, there is still a great need of resarch to better understand individual differences in pain, and factors that may help explain the individual diffences in pain using interdiciplinary approaches. For this Special Issue “Individual Differences in Pain in Various Populations” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, we invite manuscripts that examine individual differences in pain in various populations. The potential topics of interest include, but are not limited to, investigations of 1) individual differences in clinical pain and/or laboratory pain sensitivity by demographic factors (e.g., sex/gender, age, race/ethnicity, etc.), clinical factors (e.g., with/without chronic pain and/or other clinical conditions, etc.), and psychobehavioral factors (e.g., exercise/fitness levels, mood states, etc.), and 2) associations between clinical pain/laboratory pain sensitivity and relevant biobehavioral factors. Furthermore, investigations that attempt to examine what underlie the individual differences in pain will be highly relevant to this special issue. In addition to original, data-driven manuscripts, rigorous reviews of the relevant literature (e.g., systematic review, meta-analytic review, etc.) may also be considered. Submissions from any fields (e.g., behavioral science, clinical science, neuroscience, epidemiology, etc.) are welcome. All manuscripts will be peer reviewed by experts in the field, and are due in December 2021.

Submissions are still accepted after the Deadline (31 December 2021)

Dr. Masataka Umeda
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

pain sensitivity
pain experiences
sex differences
older adults
children
clinical populations
obesity
lifestyle factors

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1016 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Cognitive Orientation and Attentional Focus on Pain Perception

by Pierluigi Diotaiuti, Stefano Corrado, Stefania Mancone, Lavinia Falese, Angelo Rodio, Thaìs Cristina Siqueira and Alexandro Andrade

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 7176; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18137176 - 05 Jul 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2716

Abstract

Background. Recently, a growing interest has emerged in the role of attention and hypervigilance in the experience of pain. Shifting attention away from pain seems likely to reduce the perception of pain itself. Objectives. The present study has been designed to test the following overall hypotheses: (1) disposition to catastrophize, self-efficacy perceived in pain resistance (task self-efficacy), previous experiences concerning the tolerance of physical pain, and degree of impulsiveness are significant predictors of the decision to abandon a painful test such as the cold pressor test (CPT); (2) the manipulation of the attentive focus (internal or external) can influence the level of perceived pain. Methods. Effects of the manipulation of attentional focus (internal and external) on pain perception and response of trial abandonment were evaluated in a sample of university students (n = 246) subjected to the cold pressor test. Results. A significant effect (p < 0.05) was found through a test–retest comparison on the final level of perceived pain among subjects who had received instruction to externalize the focus of their attention (mixed factorial analysis of variance), but no significance was observed with respect to the decision to abandon the experiment. A general explanatory model of the abandonment behavior demonstrating overall good fit measurements was tested too. Conclusion. The abandonment of tests has been shown to be predicted mainly by catastrophic attitude. Attentive impulsiveness showed a further positive effect on catastrophic attitude. Perceived self-efficacy in the tolerance of pain limited learned helplessness, which in turn positively influenced catastrophizing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Individual Differences in Pain in Various Populations)

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9 pages, 516 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Depression Mediates the Relationship between Food Insecurity and Pain Interference in College Students

by Masataka Umeda, Sarah L. Ullevig, Eunhee Chung, Youngdeok Kim, Tanya J. Escobedo and Christopher J. Zeitz

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(1), 78; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18010078 - 24 Dec 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2141

Abstract

Food insecurity (FI) typically produces unfavorable health conditions. Research shows the high prevalence of FI among college students, and depression is one of the adverse effects of FIamong them. It is possible that FI may increase the risk of pain via depression; however, it is currently unclear whether FI is linked to pain among college students. Therefore, this study compared pain experiences between students with and without FI, and examined the relationship between FI, depression, and pain. One hundred seventy-six college students at a Hispanic-serving institution in the southwestern region of US completed self-report measures to assess FI, depression, pain severity, and pain interference. Results indicated that approximately 24% of the students were categorized as food insecure, and those students scored higher on pain interference compared to food-secure students. FI was positively associated with depression and pain interference scores, and depression scores were positively associated with pain interference scores. The mediation analyses based on the counterfactual framework demonstrated a significant mediation effect of depression, where 50.59% of the total effect of FI on pain interference was attributable to the depression. These results suggest that FI extends its negative effects into pain interference among college students, but better management of depression may help alleviate the effects of FI on pain interference. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Individual Differences in Pain in Various Populations)

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Review

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17 pages, 838 KiB

Open AccessReview

Bioactive Compounds for Fibromyalgia-like Symptoms: A Narrative Review and Future Perspectives

by Chwan-Li Shen, Alexis Schuck, Christina Tompkins, Dale M. Dunn and Volker Neugebauer

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(7), 4148; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19074148 - 31 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2990

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a prevalent, chronic condition without a cure or reliable therapy. The etiopathogenesis of this syndrome is ambiguous, which has heightened the challenge of discovering treatments to minimize patients’ painful symptoms. FM is characterized by diffuse musculoskeletal pain usually accompanied by functional pain syndromes, such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive difficulties, and mood issues. Currently available treatment options for FM are limited. Recent studies have suggested a potential role for dietary bioactive compounds in FM management. We performed a narrative review to evaluate the existing evidence regarding the dietary bioactive compounds for FM, and we proposed molecular mechanisms on this topic. The inclusion criteria were (i) human, in vivo, or in vitro studies, (ii) studies related to the effect of bioactive compounds on FM-like symptoms, (iii) peer-reviewed literature, and (iv) publications until February 2022 in PubMed and Google Scholar. Exclusion criteria were (i) study designs using CCI, SNI, or SNL models because they are more NP models rather than FM models, and (ii) studies published in a language other than English. Keywords were dietary bioactive compounds, fibromyalgia, cell, animals, humans. Here, we report the effects of commonly consumed bioactive compounds (capsaicin, ginger, curcumin, n-3 PUFA, grape seed extract, naringin, and genistein) on FM-like symptoms in cellular, animal, and human studies. Cellular studies demonstrated that these bioactive compounds reduce pro-inflammatory production and increase antioxidant capacity of neurons or myoblasts that regulate apoptosis/cell survival. Animal studies showed that these regularly consumed bioactive compounds have an effect on FM-like symptoms, as evidenced by decreased pain hypersensitivity and fatigue as well as improved social behaviors. Further studies are warranted to allow meaningful comparison and quantification of the efficacy of these bioactive compounds on FM-like symptoms across studies, in terms of actual changes in antioxidant capacity, pain hypersensitivity, fatigue, and social behaviors. To date, human studies regarding the efficacy of these bioactive compounds on FM-like symptoms are limited and inconclusive. Our review identifies this important knowledge gap and proposes that the development and use of improved preclinical FM models are needed, particularly concerning the usage of female animals to better mimic FM pathophysiology and symptomatology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Individual Differences in Pain in Various Populations)

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