How much pain osteoarthritis (OA) sufferers feel is related to their mental health, according to a recent study. Researchers investigated the relationship between pain, fluctuations in pain and health outcomes in 191 women and 75 men with a mean age of 65. The participants-all of whom had hip or knee pain-responded to questions about their pain and psychological state over a 12-week period. The authors found that people with better mental health felt less pain, and people with worse mental health felt more. The results of the study, which was published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, suggests that mental-health treatment could be an effective way to reduce arthritis pain.
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