Central sensitization in alcohol use disorder: correlates of pain, addiction and health-related quality of life

Figures & data

Table 1. Original items.

My alcohol problem first began because I was in pain.

Pain is a major reason why I have kept drinking alcohol.

I find myself needing more and more alcohol to control my pain.

I have put off getting treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder because I’’m afraid my pain will be worse when I stop drinking alcohol.

I am worried pain will cause me to relapse (start drinking again) in the future.

Responses were scaled as strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neutral (3), agree (4) or strongly agree (5).

Table 2. Sample characteristics.

Characteristic	Participants (n = 99)
Age mean (SD)
Years	45 (11.0)
Racial identity n (%)
Black	32 (32.3)
White	61 (61.6)
Any other race	4 (4.0)
Ethnicity n (%)
Hispanic	2 (2.1)
Non-Hispanic	94 (97.9)
Gender n (%)
Female	35 (36.5)
Male	61 (63.5)
Bodily pain n (%)
No pain	11 (11.1)
Single-site pain	12 (12.1)
Multi-site pain (2 to 3 sites)	29 (29.3)
Multi-site pain (≥ 4 sites)	47 (47.5)
Chronic pain (>3 months)	80 (80.8)
Fibromyalgia (ACRFMS ≥ 13)	44 (44.4)
AUD Severity mean (SD)
DSM-5 criteria	10.4 (1.4)

Three participants were missing data for age, race, ethnicity, gender.

Figure 1. Percentage of participants reporting pain by body region.

Figure 2. Percentage of participants who agreed or strongly agreed with original items.

Figure 3. Relationships between four domains of health-related quality of life (RAND-36) and Central Sensitization (ACRFMS total score): A. General Health; B. Bodily Pain; C. Mental Health; D. Vitality.