Pain-related anxiety and opioid misuse in a racially/ethnically diverse young adult sample with moderate/severe pain.

Pain problems are of significant public health concern, and with opioid-related problems and death due to overdose at an all-time high, there is significant public health importance to identify risk factors that link instances of pain to opioid misuse among persons with pain whether or not they have been prescribed opioids for pain management. Severe pain and pain-related problems have been associated with increased risk for opioid misuse, and recent research indicates that pain-related anxiety (worry about the negative consequences of pain) may contribute to a more debilitating pain experience. Additionally, pain-related anxiety has previously been linked to substance use motives and dependence for cannabis and tobacco. However, little research has examined pain-related anxiety as a transdiagnostic risk factor for opioid misuse. The current study examined the relationship between pain-related anxiety and self-reported opioid misuse (addiction, prescription denial, family concerns, detox) in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of young adults (N = 256, M age = 22.84) reporting moderate to severe bodily pain over the previous four weeks. Results indicated that pain-related anxiety was significantly related to several indicators of opioid misuse as well as an increased number of opioid-related problems. Findings from the current study suggest that targeting pain-related anxiety may be one therapeutic strategy to reduce opioid misuse.

Anxiety sensitivity and mindful attention in terms of anxiety and depressive symptoms and disorders among Latinos in primary care.

The present investigation examined the interactive effects of anxiety sensitivity and mindful attention in relation to anxiety and depressive symptoms and psychopathology among 145 adult Latinos (85.5% female; Mage=39.9, SD=10.8 and 98.6% used Spanish as their first language) who attended a community-based primary healthcare clinic. As expected, the interaction between anxiety sensitivity and mindful attention was significantly related to number of mood and anxiety disorders, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms. No significant interaction, however, was evident for panic (anxious arousal) symptoms. The form of the significant interaction indicated that Latinos reporting co-occurring higher levels of anxiety sensitivity and lower levels of mindful attention evinced the greatest levels of anxiety/depressive psychopathology, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms. These data provide novel empirical evidence suggesting that there is clinically-relevant interplay between anxiety sensitivity and mindful attention in regard to a relatively wide array of anxiety and depressive variables among Latinos in a primary care medical setting.