Relations among Executive Functioning, Pain Catastrophizing, and Disability in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Patients with Chronic Pain

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is often accompanied by chronic pain-related disability, but the underlying mechanisms require further understanding. Here, I examine the relations among domains of executive functioning (EF) with pain catastrophizing, disability, depression, and anxiety. Moreover, I assess the extent to which EF uniquely contributes to pain catastrophizing and disability. Participants were adults with chronic pain and mTBI who underwent a naturalistic neuropsychological assessment in a community clinic. EF revealed moderate correlations with pain catastrophizing and small to moderate correlations with disability. After accounting for depression and anxiety, EF explained a small incremental amount of variance in pain catastrophizing and disability. While further investigation with larger samples will be important, these findings provide a step towards clarifying the factors associated with pain catastrophizing and pain-related disability. The results highlight that neurocognitive and psychological factors may exacerbate the effects of chronic pain in this population.