The chicken or the egg: Longitudinal changes in pain and catastrophizing in women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome

Evidence-based psychological strategies are being used as clinicians look for helpful interventions for patients diagnosed with the enigmatic chronic urological pelvic pain condition of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). Pain and pain catastrophizing are associated with chronic pelvic pain outcomes but the longitudinal role of catastrophizing on patient pain in IC/ BPS remains unknown.

Women with IC/BPS were recruited from tertiary care clinics across North America and completed a battery of questionnaires, including demographics, pain, depression, catastrophizing at baseline, six months, and one year.

A total of 226 patients completed baseline questions, 183 completed the six-month survey, and 151 completed the one-year survey. Using a cross-lagged analysis, early changes in pain catastrophizing predicted later changes in pain, but not vice versa. Followup subscale analyses revealed that early changes in magnification predicted later changes in pain, early changes in pain predicted later changes in rumination, and that there was a recursive relationship between changes in helplessness and changes in pain across the study.

Pain catastrophizing should be considered a prime target in psychological treatment for chronic pain in patients with IC/BPS, particularly those thinking styles associated with pain onset and maintenance. Future research should be conducted with constructs such as pain catastrophizing in samples prioritizing diversity of patients with IC/BPS and mechanisms as to how to effectively decrease catastrophizing. Downloads Downloads Published How to Cite Issue Section License You, the Author(s), assign your copyright in and to the Article to the Canadian Urological Association. This means that you may not, without the prior written permission of the CUA: - Post the Article on any Web site - Translate or authorize a translation of the Article - Copy or otherwise reproduce the Article, in any format, beyond what is permitted under Canadian copyright law, or authorize others to do so - Copy or otherwise reproduce portions of the Article, including tables and figures, beyond what is permitted under Canadian copyright law, or authorize others to do so. The CUA encourages use for non-commercial educational purposes and will not unreasonably deny any such permission request. You retain your moral rights in and to the Article. This means that the CUA may not assert its copyright in such a way that would negatively reflect on your reputation or your right to be associated with the Article. The CUA also requires you to warrant the following: - That you are the Author(s) and sole owner(s), that the Article is original and unpublished and that you have not previously assigned copyright or granted a licence to any other third party; - That all individuals who have made a substantive contribution to the article are acknowledged; - That the Article does not infringe any proprietary right of any third party and that you have received the permissions necessary to include the work of others in the Article; and - That the Article does not libel or violate the privacy rights of any third party.