Status of pain catastrophizing and its correlation with alexithymia in patients with postherpetic neuralgia

Objective To explore the status of pain catastrophizing in patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and its influencing factors, and to analyze the correlation between pain catastrophizing and alexithymia.

Methods A total of 243 PHN patients were recruited as study subjects and surveyed using a general information questionnaire, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to explore the influencing factors of pain catastrophizing, and Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between pain catastrophizing and alexithymia.

Results The mean PCS score of the 243 PHN patients was (30.04±11.33), with the highest mean score for items in the helplessness dimension and the lowest for items in the magnification dimension. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, monthly family income per capita, disease duration, and pain intensity were independent influencing factors of pain catastrophizing in PHN patients (P < 0.05), collectively explaining 49.5% of the variance. Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between pain catastrophizing and alexithymia in PHN patients (P < 0.01).

Conclusion PHN patients exhibit high levels of pain catastrophizing, which is influenced by age, disease duration, pain intensity, and monthly family income per capita. Furthermore, there is a significant positive correlation between pain catastrophizing and alexithymia.