Trends in chronic pain conditions among delivering women with and without mood and anxiety disorders

Objective: The co-existence of chronic pain conditions with anxiety and/or depression is common in the general population but poorly described during pregnancy. In this study, we sought to describe trends in chronic pain among a sample of delivering people and describe the co-existence of chronic pain with anxiety and/or depression among delivering people.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from Optum's de-identified Clinformatics & REG; Data Mart Database between 2008 and 2021, for delivering persons with coverage by single employer-based health plan. We computed predicted margins from generalized estimating equations to determine the marginal predicted probability of chronic pain among all delivering and non-delivering persons who identify as women with and without diagnosed anxiety and/or depression.Results: Musculoskeletal and pelvic pain occurred most often regardless of delivering status. Delivering persons with anxiety and/or depression had higher marginal predicted probabilities of chronic pain compared to all delivering persons. Between 2008 and 2021, the predicted probabilities ranged from 0.400 to 0.527 and 0.221-0.261, respectively.Conclusion: Chronic pain conditions are common in pregnancy and nearly two times higher among individuals with anxiety and/or depression. The frequency of comorbid depression and/or anxiety with pain disorders among delivering persons highlights the importance of proper detection, coordination of care, and safe treatment options for this population.

Automated summary

The coexistence of chronic pain conditions with anxiety and/or depression during pregnancy is common but poorly understood. This study aimed to describe trends in chronic pain among delivering individuals and to examine the relationship between chronic pain and anxiety and/or depression.