Perception for ischemic pain shows similarities in adjustment disorder and major depression

We recently described an increase of pain thresholds and tolerances for thermal and electrical pail) in patients suffering from adjustment disorder (AD). Furthermore, we presented evidence that pain perception in major depressive disorder (MDD) depends on pain modality, with thresholds for ischemic pain being decreased compared to increased thermal and electrical pain thresholds. Here, we investigated perception of experimentally induced ischernic pain in 15 patients suffering from AD (subtype with depressive symptoms) and controls matched for age and sex in order to examine whether a similar pattern of modality dependent pain perception can be established. Thresholds and tolerances were assessed on both sides of the body. We found a significant decrease of ischernic pain thresholds in AD patients as compared to controls. Analogue findings have been reported for pain perception in MDD, therefore suggesting similarities with regards to pain perception in both disorders. This adds weight to the assumption that depressive symptomatology might alter pain sensitivity in this subtype of AD since symptoms are milder, yet comparable to MDD. (c) 2006 European Federation of Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.