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. 2020 Jul;10(4):253-260.
doi: 10.2217/pmt-2020-0004. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Chronic pain in people with HIV: a common comorbidity and threat to quality of life

Victoria J Madden  1   2 , Romy Parker  1 , Burel R Goodin
Affiliations

Chronic pain in people with HIV: a common comorbidity and threat to quality of life

Victoria J Madden et al. Pain Manag. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Evidence indicates that over half of all people with HIV (PWH) will experience nonmalignant chronic pain throughout their lifetimes, with increasing prevalence as they age. Peripheral neuropathy resulting from the neurotoxic effects of HIV itself and the medications used to treat HIV were widely considered the primary cause of acute and chronic pain early on in the antiretroviral treatment era. However, recent studies suggest a predominance of non-neuropathic (e.g., musculoskeletal) pain in PWH with uncertain etiology. Chronic pain is often widespread in PWH, affecting multiple body locations. Additional research is needed to better understand contributors to chronic pain in PWH, which is likely to include biological (e.g., immune dysregulation), psychological (e.g., substance abuse) and social (e.g., stigma) factors.

Keywords: HIV; access to care; biopsychosocial; inflammation; mental health; pain; prevalence; quality of life; social support; stigma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Support for this publication was provided by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01HL147603 (BR Goodin). Additional support was provided by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health under award K43TW011442 (VJ Madden). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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