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Do pain problems in young school children persist into early adulthood? A 13-year follow-up

Brattberg, Gunilla LU (2004) In European Journal of Pain 8(3). p.187-199
Abstract
Design. In a longitudinal study, 335 children ages 8, 11 and 14, first studied in 1989 were followed-up on two occasions in 1991 and 2002. The subjects filled in questionnaires on pain, the first two times in school, the last as a postal survey. Purposes. To determine if headache and back pain during the school years were transitory or if they grew into pain problems in adulthood; to determine predictors of pain. Results. In the 2002 study, 59% of the women and 39% of the men reported pain at 21, 24 and 27 years. A total of 68 (52 women, 16 men) or 20% of the subjects reported pain symptoms in all three studies. The cumulative incidence rate for the presence of pain in the cohort studied was 31% for 1989-2002 and 43% for 1991-2002. Four of... (More)
Design. In a longitudinal study, 335 children ages 8, 11 and 14, first studied in 1989 were followed-up on two occasions in 1991 and 2002. The subjects filled in questionnaires on pain, the first two times in school, the last as a postal survey. Purposes. To determine if headache and back pain during the school years were transitory or if they grew into pain problems in adulthood; to determine predictors of pain. Results. In the 2002 study, 59% of the women and 39% of the men reported pain at 21, 24 and 27 years. A total of 68 (52 women, 16 men) or 20% of the subjects reported pain symptoms in all three studies. The cumulative incidence rate for the presence of pain in the cohort studied was 31% for 1989-2002 and 43% for 1991-2002. Four of the 10 individuals with pain also reported signs of stress. Three predictors were found: reported back pain in 8-14-year-olds (p < 0.0001); reported headaches once a week or more in the same age group (p not greater than 0.0001); and a positive response in the ages 10-16 to the question: "Do you often feel nervous?" (OR = 2.1, 95%,, CI 1.3-3.4). When adjusted for age, sex and all psychosocial risk determinants studied in multiple logistic regression, a positive answer to this question was a significant predictor of pain in young adulthood. A positive response by the 10-16-year-olds to "Do you find it difficult to describe your feelings?" was a predictor of pathological anxiety in early adulthood, but stress perceived in childhood/adolescence did not predict future pain or stress. Conclusions. Since pain reports in childhood and early adolescence seem to be associated with the report of pain in early adulthood, more attention should be given to the way ill-health is managed in adolescence in this vulnerable group. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
psychological stress, headache, chronic pain, pain, back pain, longitudinal study, Certec
in
European Journal of Pain
volume
8
issue
3
pages
187 - 199
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:15109969
  • wos:000221433100002
  • scopus:2342532987
ISSN
1090-3801
DOI
10.1016/j.ejpain.2003.08.001
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
315a3dba-5268-49e7-9d3d-48d081c4c941 (old id 279053)
alternative location
http://www.certec.lth.se/doc/dopainproblems/
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:17:40
date last changed
2022-04-13 08:49:38
@article{315a3dba-5268-49e7-9d3d-48d081c4c941,
  abstract     = {{Design. In a longitudinal study, 335 children ages 8, 11 and 14, first studied in 1989 were followed-up on two occasions in 1991 and 2002. The subjects filled in questionnaires on pain, the first two times in school, the last as a postal survey. Purposes. To determine if headache and back pain during the school years were transitory or if they grew into pain problems in adulthood; to determine predictors of pain. Results. In the 2002 study, 59% of the women and 39% of the men reported pain at 21, 24 and 27 years. A total of 68 (52 women, 16 men) or 20% of the subjects reported pain symptoms in all three studies. The cumulative incidence rate for the presence of pain in the cohort studied was 31% for 1989-2002 and 43% for 1991-2002. Four of the 10 individuals with pain also reported signs of stress. Three predictors were found: reported back pain in 8-14-year-olds (p &lt; 0.0001); reported headaches once a week or more in the same age group (p not greater than 0.0001); and a positive response in the ages 10-16 to the question: "Do you often feel nervous?" (OR = 2.1, 95%,, CI 1.3-3.4). When adjusted for age, sex and all psychosocial risk determinants studied in multiple logistic regression, a positive answer to this question was a significant predictor of pain in young adulthood. A positive response by the 10-16-year-olds to "Do you find it difficult to describe your feelings?" was a predictor of pathological anxiety in early adulthood, but stress perceived in childhood/adolescence did not predict future pain or stress. Conclusions. Since pain reports in childhood and early adolescence seem to be associated with the report of pain in early adulthood, more attention should be given to the way ill-health is managed in adolescence in this vulnerable group.}},
  author       = {{Brattberg, Gunilla}},
  issn         = {{1090-3801}},
  keywords     = {{psychological stress; headache; chronic pain; pain; back pain; longitudinal study; Certec}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{187--199}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Pain}},
  title        = {{Do pain problems in young school children persist into early adulthood? A 13-year follow-up}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpain.2003.08.001}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.ejpain.2003.08.001}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2004}},
}