Journal of Pain & Relief
Open Access

Abstract

Objective: Gut microbiome is thought to influence human health and disease via the gut-brain axis. We hypothesized that the pathogenic bacteria affects pain perception. Moreover, the gut microbiome is related to stool consistency. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between stool consistency and pain perception. Methods: Thirty-eight healthy subjects participated in this study. The participants were assessed on their usual stool form (the Bristol Stool Form Scale: BSFS), constipation (the Cleveland Clinic Constipation score: CCS), degree of obesity, pain perception by mechanical stimulus, cold pain threshold, and a questionnaire on psychological state. Results: The BSFS was significantly and positively correlated with pain perception and showed a correlation with anxiety states. Furthermore, pain perception was significantly correlated with anxiety states. However, there were no significant correlations between the CCS and any independent variables. In addition, we found that a significant contributor to pain perception was BSFS. Moreover, there were significant relationships among the psychological states, BSFS and obesity. Conclusion: These results suggest that stool form is correlated with pain perception and anxiety status. Recent Publications: 1. Shiro Y, Arai Y C, Ikemoto T and Hayashi K (2017) Stool consistency is significantly associated with pain perception. PLoS One 12(8):e0182859.

Biography

Young-Chang Arai has his expertise in evaluation and management of chronic pain.

E-mail: arainon@aichi-me-u.ac.jp