Cognitive Reserve As a Protective Factor of Mental Health in Middle-Aged Adults Affected by Chronic Pain

Overview

Journal Front Psychol

Date 2021 Nov 11

PMID 34759872

Citations 6

Authors

Selma Delgado-Gallen

M Dolors Soler

Sergiu Albu

Catherine Pachon-Garcia

Vanessa Alviarez-Schulze

Javier Solana-Sanchez

David Bartres-Faz

Josep M Tormos

Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Gabriele Cattaneo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Chronic pain is associated with worse mental health and cognitive impairment, which can be a cause or a consequence of brain structure and function alterations, e.g., maladaptive plasticity, antinociceptive system dysregulation. Cognitive reserve reflects the effectiveness of the internal connections of the brain and it has been shown to be a protective factor in brain damage, slowing cognitive aging or reducing the risk of mental health disorders. The current study explored the impact of chronic pain on psychosocial factors, mental health, and cognition. Furthermore, we aimed to examine the role of cognitive reserve in the relationship between mental health and chronic pain clinical characteristics in middle-aged adults. The study group consisted of 477 volunteers from the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative who completed online surveys on pain, mental health, cognitive reserve, and psychosocial factors (sleep and quality of life). We described the differences in sociodemographic data, psychosocial factors, mental health, and self-perceived cognitive impairment, and neuropsychological assessment, between participants reporting pain compared with those without pain, as well as the main characteristics of the chronic pain group. Finally, to study the role of cognitive reserve in the modulation of the relationship between chronic pain and mental health, we compared variables between subgroups of participants with high/low pain intensity and cognitive reserve. The results showed that chronic pain was reported by 45.5% of middle-aged adults. Our results revealed that participants with chronic pain were older and had worse health status than people without pain. The presence of chronic pain affected working memory, mental health, and daily life activities. Moreover, cognitive reserve moderated the influence of pain intensity on mental health, resulting in less mental health affection in people suffering from high pain intensity with high cognitive reserve. In conclusion, the construct of the cognitive reserve could explain differential susceptibility between chronic pain and its mental health association and be a powerful tool in chronic pain assessment and treatment, principally due to its modifiable nature.

Citing Articles

Neuropsychological Symptoms and Functional Capacity in Older Adults with Chronic Pain.

Ord A, Coddington K, Maksad G, Swiatek S, Saunders J, Netz D Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2024; 10:23337214241307537.

PMID: 39703202 PMC: 11656434. DOI: 10.1177/23337214241307537.

Cognitive engagement may slow clinical progression and brain atrophy in Huntington's disease.

De Paepe A, Plana-Alcaide Y, Garcia-Gorro C, Rodriguez-Dechicha N, Vaquer I, Calopa M Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):30156.

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The protective role of cognitive reserve: an empirical study in mild cognitive impairment.

Marselli G, Favieri F, Forte G, Corbo I, Agostini F, Guarino A BMC Psychol. 2024; 12(1):334.

PMID: 38849930 PMC: 11157959. DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01831-5.

Brain system segregation and pain catastrophizing in chronic pain progression.

Delgado-Gallen S, Soler M, Cabello-Toscano M, Abellaneda-Perez K, Solana-Sanchez J, Espana-Irla G Front Neurosci. 2023; 17:1148176.

PMID: 37008229 PMC: 10060861. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1148176.

Associations between repetitive negative thinking and resting-state network segregation among healthy middle-aged adults.

Sole-Padulles C, Cattaneo G, Marchant N, Cabello-Toscano M, Mulet-Pons L, Solana J Front Aging Neurosci. 2023; 14:1062887.

PMID: 36589537 PMC: 9797808. DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1062887.

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