Anxiety, depression and stress as modulators of pain in dental care

Moreno-Prieto R.; Moreno-Prieto V.; Delgadillo-Avila J.; Temoche-Rosales C.; Campodónico-Reátegui C. · Revista Medica Electronica (2025)

Resumen

Introduction: Emotional states can influence pain perception, especially in clinical settings such as dental care. Objective: To examine the relationship between psycho-emotional states (depression, anxiety, and stress) and pain perception in dental patients. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, and prospective study was conducted in a dental clinic in Lima, Peru, with 185 patients aged 18 to 40 years. The DASS-21 questionnaire was applied to measure emotional states, and the Visual Analog Scale was used to evaluate pain. Results: A positive correlation was found between anxiety (Rho = 0.35; p < 0.001) and stress (Rho = 0.48; p < 0.001) with pain perception. Depression showed no significant relationship (Rho = -0.003; p = 0.96). Ordinal logistic regression indicated that mild anxiety (OR = 8.81; 95% CI: 3.81-20.37) and moderate anxiety (OR = 2.22; 95% CI: 1.06-4.65), as well as mild (OR = 16.64; 95% CI: 7.15-38.70), moderate (OR = 2.97; 95% CI: 1.30-6.78), and severe stress (OR = 7.50; 95% CI: 1.68-33.36), were significantly associated with increased pain perception. Mild depression (OR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.20-0.80; p = 0.01) and severe depression (OR = 0.08; 95% CI: 0.00-0.78; p = 0.03) were associated with lower pain perception. Conclusions: Anxiety and stress were significantly associated with higher pain perception. These findings support the importance of early psychological interventions to optimize the quality of dental treatment experience. © Los artículos de Revista Médica Electrónica de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Matanzas se comparten bajo los términos de la Licencia Creative Commons Atribución– NoComercial 4.0.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia; Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal