Temperament trai̇ts' relationship with pain threshold and pain tolerance according to cloninger's temperament and character inventory and akiskal temps-a

Background and Aim: There have been efforts to define the entity 'temperament' since Cloninger's psychobiological model of personality and 'Akiskal Essay on Evolution and Temperament'. Generally speaking, temperament is of hereditary origin and it shows changes to varying extents during the life span. As a biopsychosocial process, perception of pain is very likely to be affected by personal characteristics. In this study we aimed to assess the role of personality in perception of pain and to define the relation between the personal characteristics and pain threshold as well as tolerance and estimation of severity regarding Cloninger and Akiskal's affective temperament definition. Material and Method: In this study, relatives of the patients and hospital staff in Bezmialem Vakif University Hospital with a total number of 100 were recruited. Patients with chronic diseases or any previous diagnosis of psychiatric disorders were excluded. Participants were asked to fulfill Beck's Depression Scale, Beck's Anxiety Scale, Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory and Akiskal's TEMPS-A temperament scale. Following the initial examination, patients underwent pressure algometry in order to measure the tolerance and the threshold of pain. Patients were also questioned with regards to Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Results: In this study, we reported a significantly higher pain tolerance in female participants in comparison with male (p<0.05). We also reported a significantly positive but weak correlation between age and the threshold of pain (p<0.05). With regards to the correlation of threshold and temperament, a linear, weak but significant correlation between the threshold and novelty-seeking; as well as a negative, weak but significant correlation between VAS threshold and cooperation (p<0.05). As the correlation between Akiskal's affective temperament types and threshold were assessed, it was reported that the threshold and hyperthymic temperament as well as the pain tolerance and irritable temperament had linear, weak and positive correlation (p<0.05). Conclusion: Here we aimed to assess the correlation between the threshold of pain and temperament. Our study is unique in the way it underlines the importance of novelty-seeking as well as the dopaminergic neurotransmitters. Besides, it contributes to the pool of knowledge as the first study to evaluate the relation between pain and the affective temperaments of Akiskal.