New Study About Chronic Pain and Depression

It isn't news that chronic pain and depression are often closely related. However, a new study found that the risk for having chronic pain and depression at the same time is greatest in middle aged women. There was also a significant correlation between the two diagnoses for African Americans. According to the study, depression was not significantly associated with any chronic pain diagnosis in particular.

I think this is a very interesting finding, and I have to admit I was not completely surprised. After all, women are more likely to suffer from chronic pain than men. Women are also more likely than men to have depression. It seems almost logical that this finding would follow.

It does present some potential challenges for physicians when they diagnose chronic pain. Will they be more likely to ask a woman than a man if they are also experiencing signs of depression? Will they ask African Americans more frequently than Caucasians, or other races? On the contrary, will the consider that a younger man might be suffering not from one of the two diagnoses, but both?

I would love to hear some reader opinions on the matter.