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The relationship between mindfulness, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, depression, and quality of life among cancer survivors living with chronic neuropathic pain

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine if mindfulness is associated with pain catastrophizing, depression, disability, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP).

Method

We conducted a cross-sectional survey with cancer survivors experiencing CNP. Participants (n = 76) were men (24 %) and women (76 %) with an average age of 56.5 years (SD = 9.4). Participants were at least 1 year post-treatment, with no evidence of cancer, and with symptoms of neuropathic pain for more than three months. Participants completed the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), along with measures of pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, depression, and HRQOL.

Results

Mindfulness was negatively correlated with pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, and depression, and it was positively correlated with mental health-related HRQOL. Regression analyses demonstrated that mindfulness was a negative predictor of pain intensity and depression and a positive predictor of mental HRQOL after controlling for pain catastrophizing, age, and gender. The two mindfulness facets that were most consistently associated with better outcomes were non-judging and acting with awareness. Mindfulness significantly moderated the relationships between pain intensity and pain catastrophizing and between pain intensity and pain interference.

Conclusion

It appears that mindfulness mitigates the impact of pain experiences in cancer survivors experiencing CNP post-treatment.

Implications for cancer survivors

This study suggests that mindfulness is associated with better adjustment to CNP. This provides the foundation to explore whether mindfulness-based interventions improve quality of life among cancer survivors living with CNP.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by a Catalyst Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Ottawa Hospital Pain Clinic, 501 Smyth Rd., Box 249B, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L6, Canada

    Patricia A. Poulin, Catherine E. Smyth & Howard J. Nathan

  2. The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Patricia A. Poulin, Heather C. Romanow, Noriyeh Rahbari, Rebecca Small, Catherine E. Smyth, Taylor Hatchard, Cheryl A. Harris, John Kowal, Howard J. Nathan & Keith G. Wilson

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Patricia A. Poulin, Catherine E. Smyth & Howard J. Nathan

  4. Department of Psychology, The Ottawa Hospital , Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Patricia A. Poulin, Cheryl A. Harris & John Kowal

  5. School of Psychology, The University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Patricia A. Poulin, Taylor Hatchard, Brahm K. Solomon, Cheryl A. Harris & John Kowal

  6. Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

    Rebecca Small

  7. Division of Medical Oncology, The University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Xinni Song

  8. Department of Psychology, The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Keith G. Wilson

Authors
  1. Patricia A. Poulin
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  2. Heather C. Romanow
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  9. Cheryl A. Harris
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  10. John Kowal
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  11. Howard J. Nathan
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  12. Keith G. Wilson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patricia A. Poulin.

Ethics declarations

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of The Ottawa Hospital research institute and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Poulin, P.A., Romanow, H.C., Rahbari, N. et al. The relationship between mindfulness, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, depression, and quality of life among cancer survivors living with chronic neuropathic pain. Support Care Cancer 24, 4167–4175 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3243-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3243-x

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