Depression and pain: An overview

Abstract

Background: Depression and pain are both burdensome ailments that affect a major proportion of the population. It is evident that depression and pain frequently coexist, with treatment and outcome implications. Objective: To review the literature on the nature, prevalence and co-morbidity of depression and pain, the biological and psychological mechanisms involved and treatment options, thus presenting a broad overview of the current information available. Methods: Relevant sources were identified from PubMed and Medline databases using a combination of keywords including depression, pain, prevalence, co-morbidity, biological and psychological mechanisms, serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE..