Longitudinal Analyses of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Pain Scores in the Project Baseline Health Study

Data describing longitudinal pain outcomes is limited, particularly among patients experiencing chronic medical and psychiatric conditions. This study analyzed longitudinal patient-reported pain intensity and interference within six disease-specific subgroups (arthritis, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, comorbid depression and anxiety, migraine, and type 2 diabetes) as well as a healthy (free from chronic illness) comparator group from the Project Baseline Health Study, a community-based observational cohort study with data collected from 2017-2023. Cross-sectional distributions were created for pain intensity and interference scores taken at enrollment. Longitudinal correlations were calculated between pain scores and psychosocial measures collected concurrently every six months. In the analysis population (N = 2009 of 2505 total PBHS participants), each of the six disease-specific subgroups displayed higher average pain intensity and interference scores than the healthy comparator group. While 25% of healthy participants reported no pain intensity at enrollment and 37% reported no pain interference, these proportions were lower for all disease cohorts (Arthritis: 9%, 15%; Depression: 16%, 24%; Anxiety: 15%; 21%; Depression-Anxiety: 10%, 16%; Migraine: 12%; 22%; T2D: 15%, 23% - respectively). Within all subgroups, Satisfaction With Life (SWL) was the most negatively correlated with pain scores while the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were the most positively correlated. By examining pain distributions and correlations in a community-based population, this study offers novel insights into how patients with chronic illnesses experience pain.