Diagnostic uncertainty and recall bias in chronic low back pain
Diagnostic uncertainty and recall bias in chronic low back pain
Patients' beliefs about the origin of their pain and their cognitive processing of pain-related information have both been shown to be associated with poorer prognosis in low back pain (LBP), but the relationship between specific beliefs and specific cognitive processes is not known. The aim of this study was to study the relationship between diagnostic uncertainty and recall bias in two groups of chronic LBP patients, those who were certain about their diagnosis, and those who believed that their pain was due to an undiagnosed problem. Patients (N=68) endorsed and subsequently recalled pain, illness, depression and neutral stimuli. They also provided measures of pain, diagnostic status, mood and disability. Both groups exhibited a recall bias for pain stimuli, but only the group with diagnostic uncertainty additionally displayed a recall bias for illness-related stimuli. This bias remained after controlling for depression and disability. Sensitivity analyses using grouping by diagnosis/explanation received supported these findings. Higher levels of depression and disability were found in the group with diagnostic uncertainty, but levels of pain intensity did not differ between the groups. Although the methodology does not provide information on causality, the results provide evidence for a relationship between diagnostic uncertainty and recall bias for negative health-related stimuli in chronic LBP patients.
Low back pain; Diagnosis; Uncertainty; Recall bias
1540-1546
Serbic, Danijela
9b108bdc-52dd-4374-9aed-1f57991c92df
Pincus, Tamar
55388347-5d71-4fc0-9fd2-66fbba080e0c
August 2014
Serbic, Danijela
9b108bdc-52dd-4374-9aed-1f57991c92df
Pincus, Tamar
55388347-5d71-4fc0-9fd2-66fbba080e0c
Serbic, Danijela and Pincus, Tamar
(2014)
Diagnostic uncertainty and recall bias in chronic low back pain.
Pain, 155 (8), .
(doi:10.1016/j.pain.2014.04.030).
Abstract
Patients' beliefs about the origin of their pain and their cognitive processing of pain-related information have both been shown to be associated with poorer prognosis in low back pain (LBP), but the relationship between specific beliefs and specific cognitive processes is not known. The aim of this study was to study the relationship between diagnostic uncertainty and recall bias in two groups of chronic LBP patients, those who were certain about their diagnosis, and those who believed that their pain was due to an undiagnosed problem. Patients (N=68) endorsed and subsequently recalled pain, illness, depression and neutral stimuli. They also provided measures of pain, diagnostic status, mood and disability. Both groups exhibited a recall bias for pain stimuli, but only the group with diagnostic uncertainty additionally displayed a recall bias for illness-related stimuli. This bias remained after controlling for depression and disability. Sensitivity analyses using grouping by diagnosis/explanation received supported these findings. Higher levels of depression and disability were found in the group with diagnostic uncertainty, but levels of pain intensity did not differ between the groups. Although the methodology does not provide information on causality, the results provide evidence for a relationship between diagnostic uncertainty and recall bias for negative health-related stimuli in chronic LBP patients.
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Published date: August 2014
Keywords:
Low back pain; Diagnosis; Uncertainty; Recall bias
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Local EPrints ID: 469239
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/469239
ISSN: 0304-3959
PURE UUID: 02c1b728-0a3a-4b96-9b1d-a2419fe9a8f0
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Date deposited: 09 Sep 2022 16:48
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:11
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Author:
Danijela Serbic
Author:
Tamar Pincus
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