To explore the development trajectories of pain catastrophizing in elderly lung cancer patients with chronic pain undergoing chemotherapy,to analyze influencing factors,and to compare differences in physical activity among patients in different trajectory categories.

A total of 213 elderly lung cancer patients with chronic pain undergoing chemotherapy in Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital were selected as research subjects from January 2022 to February 2024.Pain catastrophizing levels of patients were surveyed before chemotherapy initiation,during the mid-phase of chemotherapy,at the end of chemotherapy,and one month after chemotherapy completion.Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify categories of pain catastrophizing trajectories.Logistic regression analysis was employed to explore influencing factors for different trajectory categories.Physical activity levels were compared among patients in different trajectory categories.

Model fitting ultimately identified three categories of pain catastrophizing trajectories,namely the low pain catastrophizing group,the moderate pain catastrophizing stable group,and the high pain catastrophizing increasing group.Logistic regression analysis showed that age,pain intensity,duration of persistent pain,personality traits, anxiety or depression,and family support were influencing factors for pain catastrophizing trajectory categories in elderly lung cancer patients with chronic pain undergoing chemotherapy (P<0.05). Comparisons of physical activity scores among patients in different pain catastrophizing trajectory categories showed statistically significant differences(P<0.05).

Elderly lung cancer patients with chronic pain undergoing chemotherapy exhibit three categories of pain catastrophizing trajectories.Healthcare professionals can develop and implement intervention plans based on the influencing factors of pain catastrophizing trajectories of patients to reduce their levels of pain catastrophizing.