The following is a summary of “Pain severity and depressive symptoms in endometriosis-patients: mediation of negative body awareness and interoceptive self-regulation,” published in the July 2024 issue of Pain by Spinoni et al.

Endometriosis-related pain may be linked to depressive symptoms, though the mechanisms behind the connection remain largely unclear.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study investigating how 2 aspects of interoception, including negative body awareness (NBA) and interoceptive self-regulation (ISR), mediate the link between pain severity and depressive symptoms in women with endometriosis.

They recruited 301 women diagnosed with endometriosis from an outpatient university clinic and patient associations. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires, and parallel mediation analysis was performed to examine the mediating effects of NBA and ISR on the link between pain severity and depressive symptoms.

The result showed nearly half of the participants (48.2%) reported depressive symptoms exceeding the self-rating scale cut-off. Pain severity significantly predicted depressive symptoms (β = 0.39, 95% bootstrap CI [0.719, 1.333]). Both NBA (β = 0.121, 95% bootstrap CI [0.174, 0.468]) and ISR (β = 0.05, 95% bootstrap CI [0.035, 0.252]) were found to mediate the relationship partially.

Investigators concluded that pain may impair the perception of the body as a source of calmness, affecting emotional regulation. They recommended further research into interoceptive sensitivity interventions to improve psychological well-being in patients with endometriosis.

Source: jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(24)00590-X/fulltext#%20