Background: A 66% of pain prevalence in patients with COPD was recently published. Pain perception may affect by different individual parameters, such as age, gender, psychological vulnerability, cultural differences, and previous pain experiences. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between pain perception and psychological vulnerability in stable COPD patients.

Methods: An observational study was performed in stable COPD patients. The presence of cognitive impairment, and the diagnosis of widespread chronic pain or acute pain were causes of exclusion from the study. The main outcomes were pain severity and pain interference in activities of daily living using Brief Pain Inventory. The pain sensibility was evaluated with the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire. Anxiety and depression levels were measured with the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HAD).

Results: A total of 48 COPD patients were included. The median age was 67.96 years [statistical deviation (SD):8.91], and 79.2% were male. Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 sec % was median 35.60 [SD:12.13] and a mean of 5.17 [SD:3.11] of dyspnea levels was referred by COPD patients. The result shows that there was a positive correlation between HAD total and pain severity in COPD patients. Whereas, there was a negative correlation between pain sensibility.

Conclusion: The present study showed a significant relationship between physiological vulnerability and pain perception in stable COPD patients.