Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38027466›Full record

ArticlePain reports2023

The effect of psychological factors on pain outcomes: lessons learned for the next generation of research.

Geert Crombez, Elke Veirman, Dimitri Van Ryckeghem, Whitney Scott, Annick De Paepe

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Pain reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Geert CrombezDepartment of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4744-8561
Elke VeirmanDepartment of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Dimitri Van RyckeghemDepartment of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Whitney ScottHealth Psychology Section, Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Annick De PaepeDepartment of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/W002388/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Big data and machine learning techniques offer opportunities to investigate the effects of psychological factors on pain outcomes. Nevertheless, these advances can only deliver when the quality of the data is high and the underpinning causal assumptions are considered. We argue that there is room for improvement and identify some challenges in the evidence base concerning the effect of psychological factors on the development and maintenance of chronic pain. As a starting point, 3 basic tenets of causality are taken: (1) cause and effect differ from each other, (2) the cause precedes the effect within reasonable time, and (3) alternative explanations are ruled out. Building on these tenets, potential problems and some lessons learned are provided that the next generation of research should take into account. In particular, there is a need to be more explicit and transparent about causal assumptions in research. This will lead to better research designs, more appropriate statistical analyses, and constructive discussions and productive tensions that improve our science.

Indexed as

Biopsychosocial modelCausalityPainPsychologicalPsychosocial

Identifiers

PMID38027466
PMCPMC10631620

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.