Although physical pain lies at the intersection of biology and social conditions, a sociology of pain is still in its infancy. We seek to show how physical and psychological pain are jointly parts of a common expression of despair, particularly in relation to mortality. Using the 2002–2014 National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality Files (N = 228,098), we explore sociodemographic differences in the intersection of physical and psychological pain (referred to as the “pain–distress nexus”) and its relationship to mortality among adults ages 25 to 64. Results from regression and event history models reveal that differences are large for the combination of the two, pointing to an overlooked aspect of health disparities. The combination of both high distress and high pain is most prevalent and most strongly predictive of mortality among socioeconomically disadvantaged, non-Hispanic whites. These patterns have several implications that medical sociology is well positioned to address.

尽管身体疼痛处于生物学和社会条件的交叉点，但疼痛社会学仍处于起步阶段。我们试图展示身体和心理上的痛苦如何共同成为绝望的共同表达的一部分，尤其是与死亡相关的部分。使用 2002-2014 年全国健康访谈调查关联死亡率文件（N = 228,098），我们探讨了生理和心理疼痛（称为“疼痛-痛苦关系”）交叉的社会人口差异及其与成年人死亡率的关系25 到 64。回归模型和事件历史模型的结果表明，两者结合的差异很大，表明健康差异的一个被忽视的方面。在社会经济处于不利地位的非西班牙裔白人中，高痛苦和高疼痛的结合是最普遍和最强烈的死亡率预测。这些模式有几个含义，医学社会学可以很好地解决。