The co-occurrence of chronic pain and psychological distress and its associations with salient socio-demographic characteristics among long-term social assistance recipients in Norway

Co-occurrence of chronic pain and psychological distress is common in LTRs and problems in early life are associated with the co-occurrence of chronic pain and psychological distress in adult life. Although this study cannot assign a clear direction or causality to the association between social and demographic characteristics and chronic pain and psychological distress, the findings when examining LTRs' problems in childhood before the age of 16, indicated that incidents in early life create a probability of chronic pain and psychological distress in the adult life of the individuals. Further studies should use life course studies and longitudinal data in to investigate these important questions in LTRs.