Patients with chronic pain are more likely to develop depression, which is associated with decreased function, poorer treatment response and poor quality of life.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression in patients with chronic pain.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among clinically diagnosed chronic pain patients from the pain management ward of La Rabta hospital in Tunisia over a period of six months.

Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained from patients’ interviews and medical records.

The Beck depression inventory (BDI) was used for screening depression diagnoses and the Visual analogue scale (VAS) to assess the severity of pain.

The sample included 102 patients with a mean age of 46.4 ± 10.4 years. The majority of the patients were females (72.5%, n = 74), married (83.3%, n = 85) and being employed (58.8%, n = 60). The prevalence of depression was (40.1%, n = 41). The mean duration of pain was 3.6 ± 1.5 years. The severity of pain was mild in 28 cases (19.3%), moderate in 36 cases (31.3%) and severe in 38 cases (49.4%). Depression was significantly associated with the duration of pain (P < 0.01). A positive correlation was observed between pain severity assessed by VAS and BDI (r = 0.521, P = 001). Depression was significantly associated with the duration of pain (P < 0.01).

Depression is frequent in patients who suffer from chronic pain and it was significantly associated with the duration and the severity of pain. Antidepressants and psychological therapies can be effective and should be delivered as part of a multidisciplinary pain management plan.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.