Among people with dialysis-dependent kidney failure, a form of psychological therapy called pain coping skills training reduced how much pain got in the way of their daily lives, also known as pain interference. The clinical trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that training people on how to manage pain reduced the extent to which pain affected their work and social activities, mood, and relationships. The pain coping skills training, which was adapted for people undergoing long-term dialysis, also improved other effects of pain, including the intensity of pain, depression, anxiety, and quality of life.
Pain coping skills training is an approach widely used for chronic pain , but it had not previously been tested for people treated with dialysis. "Very few interventions have been shown to improve the quality of life for people with end-stage kidney disease being treated with dialysis," said Dr. Paul Kimmel, program director at NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), which led the study.
"For example, opioids, which have been a main treatment for pain in this population, have side effects that can be more pronounced in the presence of kidney failure, making pain management challenging." More than 808,000 people in the United States are living with end-stage kidney disease, and 68% of them receive treatment with dialysis. People with dialysis-dependent kidney disease often experience chronic pain yet have limite.
