Objective testing has found that people in chronic pain tend to experience impairment in attention, memory, mental flexibility, verbal ability, speed of response in a cognitive task, and speed in executing structured tasks. A review of studies in 2018 reports a relationship between people in chronic pain and abnormal results in test of memory, attention, and processing speed. Social and personal impacts
Social support
Social support has important consequences for individuals with chronic pain. In particular, pain intensity, pain control, and resiliency to pain have been implicated as outcomes influenced by different levels and types of social support. Much of this research has focused on emotional, instrumental, tangible and informational social support. People with persistent pain conditions tend to rely on their social support as a coping mechanism and therefore have better outcomes when they are a part of larger more supportive social networks. Across a majority of studies investigated, there was a direct significant association between social activities or social support and pain. Higher levels of pain were associated with a decrease in social activities, lower levels of social support, and reduced social functioning. Racial disparities
Evidence exists for unconscious biases and negative stereotyping against racial minorities requesting pain treatment, although clinical decision making was not affected, according to one 2017 review. Minorities may be denied diagnoses for pain and pain medications, and are more likely to go through substance abuse assessment, and are less likely to transfer for pain specialist referral.
Effect of chronic pain in the workplace
In the workplace, chronic pain conditions are a significant problem for both the person with the condition and the organization; a problem only expected to increase in many countries due to an aging workforce. In light of this, it may be helpful for organizations to consider the social environment of their workplace, and how it may be working to ease or worsen chronic pain issues for employees. As an example of how the social environment can affect chronic pain, some research has found that high levels of socially prescribed perfectionism (perfectionism induced by external pressure from others, such as a supervisor) can interact with the guilt felt by a person with chronic pain, thereby increasing job tension, and decreasing job satisfaction. Mobility and road safety impacts
A 2022 systematic review found that chronic pain could increase crash risk among drivers. Chronic pain drivers report experiencing difficulties with safety maneuvers, such as shoulder checking for blind spots, merging with traffic, turning corners, and reversing the vehicle. See also
Childhood chronic pain
Neuroinflammation
Neurodegeneration
Dopaminergic pathways

References
Further reading
External links
Chronic Pain Syndromes at Curlie
 Media related to pain at Wikimedia Commons
International Association for the Study of Pain Archived 2021-05-01 at the Wayback Machine