Advisory Committee Chair
Robert Sorge
Advisory Committee Members
Amy Goss
Burel Goodin
Edwin Aroke
Olivio Clay
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
1-1-2025
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
Chronic pain is a significant issue globally, affecting millions of people. One relatively new way mechanism to reduce pain is to promote resilience. Yet, the effect of resilience on chronic pain may differ by sociodemographic factors (like racialized group). Furthermore, access to therapies that promote resilience may be limited across populations. However, the utilization of diet interventions for chronic pain symptoms has also been well-examined. In addition, research has shown that diets can be related to psychological resilience. Therefore, beneficial diets could potentially be utilized as a catalyst to, not only promote resilience, but also reduce pain (in combination with resilience promotion or enhancement). Additionally, groups that are often undertreated for chronic pain and/or resilience/enhancement could benefit from this approach. Furthermore, to our knowledge, there are currently no studies examining the effects of diets on pain-specific resilience. In order to establish these relationships, we sought to 1) demonstrate that chronic pain factors and pain resilience measures are linked, 2) further investigate the beneficial pain-reducing effect of diets in undertreated individuals, and 3) examine the interactions between diet, chronic pain, and pain resilience. From our investigations provided above, we have established that pain- resilience and chronic pain are linked in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) adults. We also further demonstrated the effect of diet on chronic pain in another sample of NHB adults. However, we did not observe any significant effects of diet on pain resilience. More specifically, pain resilience did not change over the course or as a result of our intervention(s). Therefore, although we have showed that pain and pain resilience are linked, and diet and pain are linked, we are currently unable to determine the relationship between diet, pain, and pain resilience. Nevertheless, considering its theoretical grounding, we have provided a foundation for this novel construct or model of diet, pain, and resilience. Given a larger sample size, we are hopeful to reexamine these ideas in the future.
LCD - week A
Supplemental_File2_USDA_Typical_Day.pdf (41 kB)
USDA diet - week A
Recommended Citation
Wiggins, Asia, "Chronic Pain and Resilience: Associations and Interactions with Diet" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 6900.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/6900
Comments
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