Clinical and Psychological Impact of Chronic Pain in People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

This study demonstrated that, compared to community-dwelling participants, there is a higher prevalence of chronic pain in people with COPD. Pain combined with dyspnea may impact adversely on cognitive function and lead to anxiety and depression, as well as greater impairment in exercise tolerance, physical activity, and ADL. These results suggested that it is necessary to assess the symptoms of chronic pain and inflect in chronic pain coping strategies.