Variables associated with decreasing pain among persons living with human immunodeficiency virus: a longitudinal follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Pain is common among persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); however, there are minimal data on its natural history, or the long-term efficacy of analgesic therapies.
METHODS: We performed an observational study between 2001 and 2009. Pain was defined on a 0 to 10 scale; 0=no pain; 10=worst pain possible. Patients were included if they were HIV positive, had a chronic pain diagnosis, a median pain score during the first year of observation of ≥1.0, ≥2 years of follow-up, and ≥3 recorded pain scores. Two models were used to describe decreasing pain. Model 1 defined decreasing pain as a negative slope to the best fit line through all recorded pain scores. Model 2 defined decreasing pain as a median pain score of zero during the last year of follow-up.
RESULTS: Using model 1, decreasing pain was negatively associated with a history of being abused (odds ratio=0.29) and positively associated with peripheral neuropathy (3.54). Using model 2, decreasing pain was positively associated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (3.71) and negatively associated with opioid analgesic use (0.24).
CONCLUSIONS: We found social and HIV-related variables associated with decreasing pain. We failed to show a positive association between analgesic use and decreasing pain.