Pain catastrophizing mediates ethnic/race group differences and pain-related outcomes in adults with or at risk for knee osteoarthritis

Pain catastrophizing contributes to heightened levels of pain and disability. Previous evidence demonstrates that non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB) report higher levels of both pain and catastrophizing than non-Hispanic whites (NHW). The current study investigates whether pain catastrophizing mediates the relationship between ethnicity/race and pain, disability and physical function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Furthermore, this study examined whether catastrophizing predicts pain and disability at 2-year follow-up. Participants included 187 (96 NHB, 91 NHW) community-dwelling adults with unilateral or bilateral knee pain who screened positive for knee OA. Participants completed several measures at baseline and 2-year follow-up including the Coping Strategies Questionnaire-Revised Pain Catastrophizing subscale, Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, Graded Chronic Pain Scale, and Short Physical Performance Battery. NHBs reported greater pain severity, higher levels of disability, and poorer functional performance compared to their NHW counterparts (ps