Pain catastrophizing, neuroticism, fear of pain, and anxiety: Defining the genetic and environmental factors in a sample of female twins.

ABSTRACT: The objective of the present study was to establish the heritability of pain catastrophizing and its subdomains of helplessness, magnification, and rumination and to further explore the genetic and environmental sources that may contribute to pain catastrophizing as well as to its commonly reported psycho-affective correlates, including neuroticism, anxiety sensitivity, and fear of pain. N = 2,401 female twin individuals from the TwinsUK registry were subject to univariate and multivariate twin analyses. Well validated questionnaires including the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Pain Anxiety Symptom Scale, the Ten Item Personality Index, and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index were used to assess the study variables. Moderate estimates of heritability for pain catastrophizing (36%) and the three

SUBMITTER: Burri A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5864012 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature