(268) Blood Pressure as a Prospective Predictor of Chronic Pain Development: Results from Oklahoma Study of Native American Pain Risk (OK-SNAP)

Identification of those at risk for chronic pain development may help prevent its onset. The relationship between blood pressure (BP) and pain processing has been studied extensively, but it is unknown whether BP is related to future pain onset. The current study examined whether resting BP predicts the development of chronic pain in participants from the OK-SNAP study who were healthy and pain-free at the time of enrollment. BP was recorded 3 times and averaged at the time of enrollment. Following the OK-SNAP main study, participants were contacted every 6 months to assess for chronic pain. Of the 139 Native American (NA) and 147 non-Hispanic white (NHW) participants enrolled, 208 (73%) responded to at least 1 follow-up. Participants were deemed to have chronic pain if they experienced pain for >3 months that did not remit at subsequent follow-ups (N=35; 17%). These persons were compared to those that reported no persistent pain at any follow-up (N=133; 64%). First, zero-order correlations were conducted between chronic pain onset, BP, and control variables. Systolic BP, diastolic BP, race, general health perception, and age were significantly related to chronic pain onset ( p s R 2 =.287) . These results suggest a role of cardiovascular health in chronic pain development, with a stronger effect for diastolic BP over systolic BP.