Neuropathic pain and mood disorders in earthquake survivors with peripheral nerve injuries

Ideggyogy Sz. 2024 Mar 30;77(3-4):97-102. doi: 10.18071/isz.77.0097.

Abstract

Background and purpose: <p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, frequently result in mood disorders among affected individuals. It is established that neuropathic pain arising from traumatic neuropathies is also linked to mood disorders. This study investigates the influence of neuropathic pain on the development of mood disorders in earthquake survivors with peripheral nerve injuries, following the earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023. Additionally, we aim to assess the electro&shy;physiological aspects of neuropathic injuries in these survivors.</p>.

Methods: <p>The study comprised 46 earth-quake survivors with electrophysiologically confirmed peripheral nerve injuries, with 39 trauma-free survivors serving as the control group. Neuropathic pain, anxiety and depression were assessed using the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).</p>.

Results: <p>Our findings revealed that the ulnar and peroneal nerves were the most commonly injured structures. Among the survivors with peripheral nerve injury, 31 out of 46 (67%) were found to experience neuropathic pain. Furthermore, plexopathy and multiple extremity injuries were associated with more severe neuropathic pain. However, there was no significant difference in anxiety and depression scores between the two groups and neuropathic pain was found to have no independent effect.</p>.

Conclusion: <p>The study indicates that the intensity of neuropathic pain varies based on the localization and distribution of peripheral nerve injuries. However, the presence of peripheral nerve damage or neuropathic pain was not directly associated with HADS scores, suggesting that mood disorders following disasters may have multifactorial causes beyond physical trauma.</p>.

Background and purpose: <p>A term&eacute;szeti katasztr&oacute;f&aacute;k, p&eacute;ld&aacute;ul a f&ouml;ldreng&eacute;sek gyakran vezetnek hangulatzavarhoz az &eacute;rintettek k&ouml;r&eacute;ben. Ismert, hogy a traum&aacute;s neuropathi&aacute;kb&oacute;l eredő neuropathi&aacute;s f&aacute;jdalom is &ouml;sszef&uuml;gg a hangulatzavarokkal. Ez a tanulm&aacute;ny a neuropathi&aacute;s f&aacute;jdalom hat&aacute;s&aacute;t vizsg&aacute;lja a hangulatzavarok kialakul&aacute;s&aacute;ra a perif&eacute;ri&aacute;s idegs&eacute;r&uuml;l&eacute;st szenvedett f&ouml;ldreng&eacute;st&uacute;l&eacute;lőkn&eacute;l, a 2023. febru&aacute;r 6-i, Kahramanmaraş k&ouml;zpont&uacute; f&ouml;ldreng&eacute;st k&ouml;vetően. Emellett c&eacute;lunk a neuropathi&aacute;s s&eacute;r&uuml;l&eacute;sek elektrofiziol&oacute;giai aspektusainak felm&eacute;r&eacute;se ezekben a t&uacute;l&eacute;lőkben.</p>.

Methods: <p>A vizsg&aacute;latban 46, elektro-fiziol&oacute;giailag igazolt perif&eacute;ri&aacute;s idegs&eacute;r&uuml;l&eacute;ssel rendelkező f&ouml;ldreng&eacute;st&uacute;l&eacute;lő vett r&eacute;szt, kontrollcsoportk&eacute;nt 39 traumamentes t&uacute;l&eacute;lő szolg&aacute;lt. A neuropathi&aacute;s f&aacute;jdalmat, a szorong&aacute;st &eacute;s a depresszi&oacute;t a Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) k&eacute;rdőív &eacute;s a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) segíts&eacute;g&eacute;vel vizsg&aacute;ltuk.</p>.

Results: <p>Az eredm&eacute;nyek azt mutatj&aacute;k, hogy az ulnaris &eacute;s a peronealis idegek voltak a leggyakrabban s&eacute;r&uuml;lt strukt&uacute;r&aacute;k. A pe&shy;rif&eacute;ri&aacute;s idegs&eacute;r&uuml;l&eacute;st szenvedett t&uacute;l&eacute;lők k&ouml;&shy;z&uuml;l 46-b&oacute;l 31 (67%) eset&eacute;ben jelentkezett neuropathi&aacute;s f&aacute;jdalom. Tov&aacute;bb&aacute;, a plexo&shy;pa&shy;thia &eacute;s a t&ouml;bbv&eacute;gtag-s&eacute;r&uuml;l&eacute;s s&uacute;lyosabb neu&shy;ropathi&aacute;s f&aacute;jdalommal j&aacute;rt egy&uuml;tt. Mind&shy;azon&shy;&aacute;ltal, a k&eacute;t csoport k&ouml;z&ouml;tt nem volt szignifik&aacute;ns k&uuml;l&ouml;nbs&eacute;g a szorong&aacute;s &eacute;s a depresszi&oacute; pontsz&aacute;maiban, &eacute;s a neuropathi&aacute;s f&aacute;jdalomnak nem volt f&uuml;ggetlen hat&aacute;sa.</p>.

Conclusion: <p>A vizsg&aacute;lat azt jelzi, hogy a neuropathi&aacute;s f&aacute;jdalom intenzit&aacute;sa a perif&eacute;ri&aacute;s idegs&eacute;r&uuml;l&eacute;sek lokaliz&aacute;ci&oacute;ja &eacute;s eloszl&aacute;sa alapj&aacute;n v&aacute;ltozik. A perif&eacute;ri&aacute;s idegk&aacute;rosod&aacute;s vagy a neuropathi&aacute;s f&aacute;jdalom jelenl&eacute;te &nbsp;azonban nem &aacute;llt k&ouml;zvetlen kapcsolatban &nbsp;a HADS-pontsz&aacute;mokkal, ami arra utal, hogy &nbsp;a katasztr&oacute;f&aacute;kat k&ouml;vető hangulatzavaroknak a&nbsp;fizikai traum&aacute;n t&uacute;l multifaktori&aacute;lis oka van.</p>.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; earthquake; neuropathic pain; peripheral nerve injury.

MeSH terms

  • Earthquakes*
  • Humans
  • Mood Disorders / complications
  • Mood Disorders / etiology
  • Neuralgia* / epidemiology
  • Neuralgia* / etiology
  • Peripheral Nerve Injuries* / complications
  • Survivors