The Association Between COVID-19-Related Persistent Symptoms, Psychological Flexibility, and General Mental Health Among People With and Without Persistent Pain in the UK

TL;DR

People with chronic pain in the UK are more affected by long-term COVID-19 symptoms and mental health issues, and psychological flexibility may not help buffer these effects.

Contribution

This study compares mental health outcomes and psychological flexibility in people with and without chronic pain following persistent COVID-19 symptoms.

Findings

Participants with persistent pain had more persistent symptoms and worse mental health than those without pain.

Higher psychological inflexibility was linked to poorer mental health in both groups.

Psychological flexibility did not significantly buffer the impact of persistent symptoms on mental health.

Abstract

Objectives: Persistent symptoms following COVID-19 may adversely impact the general mental health of people with chronic pain, and psychological flexibility may buffer these impacts. However, it remains unclear whether such lasting implications of COVID-19 differ between people with and without chronic pain. This study investigated the relationships between persistent symptoms post-COVID-19, psychological flexibility, and general mental health among people with and without persistent pain during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Methods: A total of 204 adults living in the UK were recruited via social media and completed an online survey, including measures of persistent symptoms, depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7), insomnia (the Insomnia Severity Index), and psychological flexibility (the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory), and were included in the analyses. Results: Participants with persistent pain (n = 70) experienced more-persistent symptoms, poorer general mental health, and a higher level of psychological inflexibility compared with participants without persistent pain (n = 133). Overall, the relationships between persistent physical symptoms, general mental health, and psychological (in)flexibility showed similar patterns in the two groups. Participants with more-persistent physical symptoms experienced significantly poorer general mental health. Furthermore, people with higher levels of psychological inflexibility reported worse general mental health. There was little evidence that psychological (in)flexibility could “buffer” the association between persistent physical symptoms and general mental health. Conclusions: People with chronic pain appear more vulnerable to persistent symptoms and reduced general mental health compared with people without pain. Treatments that reduce psychological inflexibility, such as ACT, may improve outcomes for people with persistent symptoms post-COVID-19.

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