The Unhappy Triad: Pain, Sleep Complaints, and Internalizing Symptoms

Biphasic effects of cannabis and cannabinoid therapy on pain severity, anxiety, and sleep disturbance: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Cannabinoids are being used by patients to help with chronic pain management and to address the 2 primary chronic pain comorbidities of anxiety and sleep disturbance. It is necessary to understand the biphasic effects of cannabinoids to improve treatment of this symptom triad.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted to identify whether biphasic effects of cannabinoids on pain severity, anxiolysis, and sleep disturbance have been reported. The search included the Embase, Biosis, and Medline databases of clinical literature published between 1970 and 2021. The inclusion criteria were (1) adults more than 18 years of age, (2) data or discussion of dose effects associated with U-shaped or linear dose responses, and (3) measurements of pain and/or anxiety and/or sleep disturbance. Data were extracted by 2 independent reviewers (with a third reviewer used as a tiebreaker) and subjected to a thematic analysis.

RESULTS

After the database search and study eligibility assessment, 44 publications met the final criteria for review. Eighteen publications that specifically provided information on dose response were included in the final synthesis: 9 related to pain outcomes, 7 measuring anxiety, and 2 reporting sleep effects.

CONCLUSIONS

This scoping review reports on biphasic effects of cannabinoids related to pain, sleep, and anxiety. Dose-response relationships are present, but we found gaps in the current literature with regard to biphasic effects of cannabinoids in humans. There is a lack of prospective research in humans exploring this specific relationship.

Chronic pain as an emergent property of a complex system and the potential roles of psychedelic therapies

Despite research advances and urgent calls by national and global health organizations, clinical outcomes for millions of people suffering with chronic pain remain poor. We suggest bringing the lens of complexity science to this problem, conceptualizing chronic pain as an emergent property of a complex biopsychosocial system. We frame pain-related physiology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, learning, and epigenetics as components and mini-systems that interact together and with changing socioenvironmental conditions, as an overarching complex system that gives rise to the emergent phenomenon of chronic pain. We postulate that the behavior of complex systems may help to explain persistence of chronic pain despite current treatments. From this perspective, chronic pain may benefit from therapies that can be both disruptive and adaptive at higher orders within the complex system. We explore psychedelic-assisted therapies and how these may overlap with and complement mindfulness-based approaches to this end. Both mindfulness and psychedelic therapies have been shown to have transdiagnostic value, due in part to disruptive effects on rigid cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns as well their ability to promote neuroplasticity. Psychedelic therapies may hold unique promise for the management of chronic pain.

The complexities of the sleep-pain relationship in adolescents: A critical review

Chronic pain is a common and disabling condition in adolescents. Disturbed sleep is associated with many detrimental effects in adolescents with acute and chronic pain. While sleep and pain are known to share a reciprocal relationship, the sleep-pain relationship in adolescence warrants further contextualization within normally occurring maturation of several biopsychological processes. Since sleep and pain disorders begin to emerge in early adolescence and are often comorbid, there is a need for a comprehensive picture of their interrelation especially related to temporal relationships and mechanistic drivers. While existing reviews provide a solid foundation for the interaction between disturbed sleep and pain in youth, we will extend this review by highlighting current methodological challenges for both sleep and pain assessments, exploring the recent evidence for directionality in the sleep-pain relationship, reviewing potential mechanisms and factors underlying the relationship, and providing direction for future investigations. We will also highlight the potential role of digital technologies in advancing the understanding of the sleep and pain relationship. Ultimately, we anticipate this information will facilitate further research and inform the management of pain and poor sleep, which will ultimately improve the quality of life in adolescents and reduce the risk of pain persisting into adulthood.

Longitudinal, bidirectional relationships of insomnia symptoms and musculoskeletal pain across adolescence: the mediating role of mood

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have established a bidirectional relationship between sleep and pain, and mood has been proposed as a mediator of this relationship. There are only a limited number of longitudinal studies examining the mediational role of mood, and the directionality of effects between sleep, pain, and mood is uncertain. In addition, despite the high prevalence of pain and sleep problems during adolescence, these relationships have rarely been examined in a longitudinal sample of adolescents. Here, longitudinal survey data with 5 yearly measurements were used to examine the bidirectional relationship between insomnia symptoms and pain across adolescence (Mbaseline age = 13.65 years, Nbaseline = 2767). We also explored if depressed mood, positive affect, and anxious mood are mediators in both directions of the sleep-pain relationship. Using latent variables for insomnia, pain, and mood at multiple time points, the data were analyzed with cross-lagged panel models for longitudinal data with structural equation modeling. Current results confirmed a bidirectional relationship between insomnia symptoms and pain, where the effect of insomnia symptoms on pain was stronger than vice versa. Depressed mood and anxious mood mediated the effect of insomnia symptoms on pain, but not the reverse effect of pain on insomnia symptoms. Positive affect did not serve as a mediator in either direction. These findings add novel insights into the temporal directionality of sleep, pain, and mood during adolescence, suggesting a temporal path from sleep to pain, through mood, rather than a reciprocal relationship between the constructs.

Chronic Pain: A Complex Condition With a Multi-Tangential Approach

Chronic pain is known as ongoing pain that lasts longer than three months with increasing healing time. It is approximated that 20% of adults of different sexes, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds fall victim to chronic pain. It is a result of several factors and can have lifelong effects. Pain is a complex matter to measure; therefore, the physician needs to understand the patient's health state to create a management plan tending to each issue adequately. There are many complications of such pain, and it can interfere terribly with an individual's quality of life. This article has reviewed the complex pathogenesis of chronic pain and the spectrum of non-pharmacologic modalities and pharmacological treatment options. It has also explored the efficacy of certain drugs and underlined the importance of nonpharmacological options such as physical exercise, cognitive therapy, and physical modalities to treat chronic pain and all the conditions that accompany this disorder.

Cross-lagged longitudinal analysis of pain intensity and sleep disturbance

BACKGROUND

There is substantial evidence that pain intensity and sleep are related, with findings generally suggesting more support for the influence of sleep on pain intensity than vice versa. However, the strength and direction of the relationship has been found to vary among different populations, with few studies in individuals with chronic physical disabilities.

OBJECTIVE

Examine the directionality of the sleep and pain relationship in individuals with chronic physical disabilities.

METHODS

Cross-lagged effects models were generated using data from a longitudinal observational survey study of individuals (N = 1660) with multiple sclerosis (MS), muscular dystrophy (MD), post-polio syndrome (PPS), and spinal cord injury (SCI). Models evaluated the correlational effects of sleep disturbance and pain intensity, as well as the cross-lagged effects of sleep disturbance to pain intensity and vice versa.

RESULTS

The effects of pain on sleep were stronger than sleep on pain, although the magnitude of the effects were both relatively weak. Analyses within individual samples were consistent with the overall sample results for MS, MD, and PPS. In the SCI sample the magnitude and direction of the cross-lagged model paths were more variable than in the other samples.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between pain intensity and sleep disturbance appears bi-directional, but the effects are small in a sample of individuals with long-term disabilities. The temporal effects of pain on sleep disturbance appear stronger than the effects of sleep disturbance on pain intensity. Future research is needed to better understand this relationship in the context of pain and/or sleep disturbance treatments.

A Multimethod, Case-Controlled Study of Sleep-Wake Disturbances in Adolescents With Spina Bifida

Objective

This study aimed to compare sleep-wake disturbances in adolescents with spina bifida (SB) to typically developing (TD) peers. Exploratory analyses examined sex as moderator of disrupted sleep.

Methods

Adolescents with SB (ages 12-18 years; N = 37) and a demographically matched sample of TD adolescents (N = 37) completed validated sleep questionnaires and underwent 10 days of actigraphy monitoring.

Results

Adolescents with SB evidenced worse sleep quality, shorter sleep duration, greater sleep maintenance difficulties, and higher levels of fatigue compared with their TD peers. Exploratory analyses revealed females with SB were particularly vulnerable to developing sleep disturbances.

Conclusions

Adolescents with SB are at risk for nighttime sleep disturbances and daytime fatigue. Additional research will need to identify mechanisms and adverse consequences of poor sleep to develop interventions addressing sleep deficiency. Sex-specific disparities in sleep patterns in pediatric SB is a novel finding that requires assessment of etiological underpinnings to clarify clinical implications.

Associations Between Sleep Disturbance and Chronic Pain Intensity and Function: A Test of Direct and Indirect Pathways

OBJECTIVES

Sleep disturbance and chronic pain are related. The present study evaluated both direct and indirect (mediated) pathways through which sleep disturbance might be related to chronic pain intensity and function.

METHODS

In total, 87 individuals (64% female) with chronic low back pain but not using opioids daily completed questionnaires assessing their sleep disturbance, chronic pain intensity, function, depression, anxiety, positive affect, and catastrophizing.

RESULTS

Greater sleep disturbance was associated with greater pain intensity, worse function, greater emotional distress, lower positive affect, and higher levels of catastrophizing. Cross-sectional mediation analyses revealed that the positive associations between sleep disturbance and chronic pain intensity were conveyed statistically not only by significant indirect effects of elevated emotional distress, lower positive affect, and greater catastrophizing associated with sleep disturbance, but also by significant direct effects of sleep disturbance on chronic pain intensity. Similarly, we found that the associations between sleep disturbance and impaired function were conveyed statistically not only by significant indirect effects of elevated chronic pain intensity associated with sleep disturbance, but also by significant direct effects of sleep disturbance on function.

DISCUSSION

Sleep disturbance was related significantly with chronic pain intensity and function by both direct and indirect pathways. These results are consistent with an emerging literature highlighting the potential significance of sleep disturbance in chronic pain patients, and provide further support for addressing sleep disturbance in the assessment and management of chronic pain.

The bidirectional relationship between sleep complaints and pain: Analysis of data from a randomized trial

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to examine the bidirectional relationship of sleep and pain to determine whether changes in sleep complaints over the course of a chronic pain treatment trial predict pain outcomes and vice versa, controlling for changes in depression and anxiety.

METHODS

Data were analyzed from a 12-month randomized, controlled trial that tested the effectiveness of a collaborative care intervention for veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Participants were 250 veterans from 5 primary care clinics in a Veteran Affairs (VA) medical center. Measures of pain, sleep, and depression/anxiety symptoms were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months. Factor analysis was used to clarify the boundaries of these domains, and structural equation modeling was used to examine whether changes in sleep complaints and depression/anxiety during the trial predicted pain at the end of the trial, controlling for covariates. An alternative model was also tested in which changes in pain predicted sleep complaints.

RESULTS

Changes in sleep complaints at 3 months significantly predicted changes in pain at 12 months (standardized path coefficient = .29, p < .001). To a lesser extent, changes in pain predicted changes in sleep (standardized path coefficient = .15, p < .05). Changes in depression/anxiety did not significantly predict changes in pain or sleep. There was also evidence of differential relations of specific sleep complaints with pain.

CONCLUSIONS

This work helps to further disentangle the complex relationship between pain and sleep. This bidirectional relationship may need to be considered to improve pain outcomes.