Pain characteristics and impact of pain in individuals with spina Bifida: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Sin, May Phyu LU
and Alriksson-Schmidt, Ann
LU
(2025)
In Disability and Health Journal
p.1-11
- Abstract
- Background
Pain is prevalent in spina bifida (SB), yet, it has received limited attention in research and healthcare.
Objective
To investigate pain severity, common pain sites, and pain interference with daily activities and sleep in individuals with SB.
Methods
Literature was last searched in Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, and Academic Search Complete in July 2024. Inclusion criteria included observational studies on open or closed SB and published articles in English from January 2000 to January 2024. Other spinal dysraphism conditions were excluded. Meta-analyses were conducted using random effects models. Narrative reviews were provided for studies excluded from the meta-analyses. The... (More) - Background
Pain is prevalent in spina bifida (SB), yet, it has received limited attention in research and healthcare.
Objective
To investigate pain severity, common pain sites, and pain interference with daily activities and sleep in individuals with SB.
Methods
Literature was last searched in Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, and Academic Search Complete in July 2024. Inclusion criteria included observational studies on open or closed SB and published articles in English from January 2000 to January 2024. Other spinal dysraphism conditions were excluded. Meta-analyses were conducted using random effects models. Narrative reviews were provided for studies excluded from the meta-analyses. The methodological quality of included articles was assessed using the risk of bias tool for prevalence studies.
Results
Fifteen studies (1301 participants) were included, with 80 % rated as moderate quality. Meta-analyses showed that adults with SB had moderate to severe pain on average (mean numeric rating score: 5.4, 95 % CI: 3.2, 7.6), with the most prevalent pain sites being the back 59.1 % (95 % CI: 39.8 %, 77.1 %) and hips 35.0 % (95 % CI: 10.0 %, 66.0 %). Literature on pain in newborns is limited. For children/adolescents, pain was observed from head to lower extremities with varying intensity, and pain in the head and back were most consistently reported. Impact of pain on daily activity and sleep was inconclusive.
Conclusions
As individuals with SB can experience pain at any site with varying intensity, pain should be regularly assessed in this population. Findings cannot be generalized to those with communication or cognitive problems. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4a21da2d-0e72-44b6-8923-47abfa9273b4
- author
- Sin, May Phyu
LU
and Alriksson-Schmidt, Ann
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-05
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- in
- Disability and Health Journal
- article number
- 101845
- pages
- 1 - 11
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:40335371
- scopus:105004649579
- ISSN
- 1936-6574
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.dhjo.2025.101845
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 4a21da2d-0e72-44b6-8923-47abfa9273b4
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-19 16:51:47
- date last changed
- 2025-06-24 04:03:11
@article{4a21da2d-0e72-44b6-8923-47abfa9273b4,
abstract = {{Background<br/>Pain is prevalent in spina bifida (SB), yet, it has received limited attention in research and healthcare.<br/><br/>Objective<br/>To investigate pain severity, common pain sites, and pain interference with daily activities and sleep in individuals with SB.<br/><br/>Methods<br/>Literature was last searched in Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, and Academic Search Complete in July 2024. Inclusion criteria included observational studies on open or closed SB and published articles in English from January 2000 to January 2024. Other spinal dysraphism conditions were excluded. Meta-analyses were conducted using random effects models. Narrative reviews were provided for studies excluded from the meta-analyses. The methodological quality of included articles was assessed using the risk of bias tool for prevalence studies.<br/><br/>Results<br/>Fifteen studies (1301 participants) were included, with 80 % rated as moderate quality. Meta-analyses showed that adults with SB had moderate to severe pain on average (mean numeric rating score: 5.4, 95 % CI: 3.2, 7.6), with the most prevalent pain sites being the back 59.1 % (95 % CI: 39.8 %, 77.1 %) and hips 35.0 % (95 % CI: 10.0 %, 66.0 %). Literature on pain in newborns is limited. For children/adolescents, pain was observed from head to lower extremities with varying intensity, and pain in the head and back were most consistently reported. Impact of pain on daily activity and sleep was inconclusive.<br/><br/>Conclusions<br/>As individuals with SB can experience pain at any site with varying intensity, pain should be regularly assessed in this population. Findings cannot be generalized to those with communication or cognitive problems.}},
author = {{Sin, May Phyu and Alriksson-Schmidt, Ann}},
issn = {{1936-6574}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{1--11}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Disability and Health Journal}},
title = {{Pain characteristics and impact of pain in individuals with spina Bifida: Systematic review and meta-analysis}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2025.101845}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.dhjo.2025.101845}},
year = {{2025}},
}