• R Scherder, N Kant, E Wolf, PijnenburgA C MACMDepartment of Orthopaedics, Amstelland Hospital, Amstelveen, The Netherlands., and E Scherder.
• Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
• Pain Med. 2017 Oct 1; 18 (10): 1987-1998.

ObjectiveThe goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between pain and cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis.DesignCross-sectional.SettingNursing home and personal environment of the investigators.SubjectsTwo groups of participants were included: 91 patients with multiple sclerosis and 80 matched control participants.MethodsThe level of pain was measured by the following pain scales: Number of Words Chosen-Affective, Colored Analogue Scale for pain intensity and suffering from pain, and the Faces Pain Scale. Mood was tested by administering the Beck Depression Inventory and the Symptom Check List-90 anxiety and depression subscale. Global cognitive functioning was assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination. Memory and executive functions were assessed by several neuropsychological tests.ResultsMultiple sclerosis (MS) patients scored significantly lower than control participants on the majority of the neuropsychological tests. The MS patients experienced more pain compared with control participants, despite the fact that they were taking significantly more pain medication. No significant correlation was observed between cognition and pain in MS patients. Verbal working memory explained 10% of pain intensity (trend). Mood appeared to be a significant predictor of pain in patients with multiple sclerosis.ConclusionThe lack of a relationship between cognition and pain might be explained by the fact that, compared with control participants, patients with multiple sclerosis activate other non-pain-related areas to perform executive functions and memory tasks.© 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

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