Citation

Brooks JM, Blake J, Sanchez J, Mpofu E, Wu JR, Chen X, Nauser J, Cotton BP, Bartels SJ. Community Ment. Health J. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Centers for Health and Aging, Lebanon, NH, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10597-019-00403-x

PMID

31098766

Abstract

Older adults with schizophrenia have some of the highest rates of both medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Despite this, little is known about comorbid pain and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia research. This study aimed to examine the associations between levels of pain intensity and depressive symptoms among community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Recruited from U.S. community mental health centers, participants reported on pain and depressive symptoms at the onset of the Helping Older People Experience Success (HOPES) study. Unadjusted and adjusted regression analyses were conducted. Higher pain intensity was associated with elevated depressive symptoms in all analyses, which is consistent with other studies in the general population. Given the widespread efforts to manage pain and related mental health complications in older adults without serious mental illnesses, it is likewise important that community-based mental health professionals monitor and address intense pain and related depressive symptoms among older adults with schizophrenia.

Language: en

Keywords

Depressive symptoms; Older adults; Pain intensity; Schizophrenia spectrum disorders