Depressed mood in chronic low back pain: Relationship with stressful life events

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Abstract
Rt significantly more untoward life events and ongoing life difficulties compared to CLBP patients without depressed mood (N = 17) and controls (N = 19). This prediction was confirmed. Subjects also were rated as being either in a high stress or low stress condition. Patients with depressed mood were more likely to be in the high stress condition than were either non-depressed patients or volunteers. Furthermore, the increased stress reported by the distressed group appeared to be a direct consequence of back pain-related life events, rather than from other life problems. We conclude that previously reported associations between life events and CLBP are a function of the relationship between stressful life events and depressive symptoms, which are prevalent in CLBP. ∗Correspondence to: J.H. Atkinson M.D., Department of Psychiatry, M-003, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, U.S.A. (Received 29 October 1987; revised 11 April 1988; accepted 16 May 1988.) ☆ This research was supported in part by the Veterans Administration. © Lippincott-Raven Publishers....