2022 Volume 34 Issue 2 Pages 166-171
Pain catastrophizing is defined as an exaggerated negative orientation toward pain, and an increased number of pain sites is associated with increased pain catastrophizing. In this study, the pain catastrophizing scale（PCS）was applied to 204 outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis（RA）in our hospital. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the key factors that influence pain catastrophizing using the PCS scores as the objective variables and age, sex, physical activity, visual analogue scale（VAS）scores, annual radiographic progression using the modified Sharp van der Heijde score（S-H method）, and treatment drugs as the independent variables. The mean total pain catastrophizing score was 18.8±12.2. The subscale scores were as follows: rumination, 9.4 ± 5.8; helplessness, 4.3 ± 3.1; and magnification, 5.1 ± 4.3. The scores for rumination and magnification were high in RA. Rumination was significantly associated with joint swelling（p=0.029）, magnification was significantly associated with annual radiographic progression per the S-H method（p=0.049）, and helplessness was significantly associated with VAS scores（p=0.019）. According to the fear avoidance model, fear of pain and excessive avoidance of behaviors associated with pain lead to depression and adjustment disorder, thereby resulting in a vicious cycle of chronic pain. Nurses caring for RA should make efforts to reduce the psychological fear in RA patients they encounter during their practice.
