IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Presentation
Original Publication Date
2025
Date of Submission
February 2026
Abstract
Chronic opioid therapy is widely used for managing persistent pain, yet its long-term efficacy is questionable and often associated with adverse outcomes such as opioid misuse and dependence. This study investigated whether central sensitization (CS), a condition of heightened neural response to pain stimuli, better predicts opioid-related outcomes compared to self-reported pain severity. Among adults with chronic pain currently using long-term opioid therapy, participants completed measures assessing CS, pain severity, and opioid-related outcomes including readiness and confidence to change opioid use, misuse, and dependence. Regression analyses revealed that while CS did not significantly predict readiness or confidence to change opioid use, it did significantly predict opioid dependence. In contrast, pain severity was a significant predictor of both readiness to change opioid use and opioid misuse, but not dependence. These findings suggest that CS and pain severity may differentially influence aspects of opioid-related behavior and highlight the potential for CS to serve as a target for interventions aimed at reducing opioid dependence. Future research should explore these relationships longitudinally and incorporate objective pain measures.
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Spit for Science Publications and Presentations