ABSTRACT
Body pain is frequently reported in children, and it has been suggested that childhood pain could be the beginning of chronic disabling pain. Three hypotheses were tested: 1. Body pain is associated with mental distress and sleeping problems; 2. The association is dependent on the localisation of the pain; 3. The association increases with the number of painful areas. 86 percent of the pupils (569) in the 4th form (mean age 10.5 years), 7th form (mean age 13.5 years) and 9th form (mean age 15.5 years) from all the schools in a local community answered a questionnaire about self esteem, body image, physical activity and body pain. A strong association was found between the reporting of pain, mental distress and sleeping problems. Knee pain was the only problem reported more frequently by boys than by girls, and did not show the same association with mental distress and sleeping problems as pain from other regions.
Subject(s)
Mental Disorders , Pain , Psychophysiologic Disorders , Sleep Wake Disorders , Stress, Psychological , Adolescent , Body Image , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Disorders/complications , Norway , Pain/etiology , Pain/psychology , Psychophysiologic Disorders/diagnosis , School Health Services , Self Concept , Sleep Wake Disorders/complications , Sleep Wake Disorders/etiology , Sleep Wake Disorders/psychology , Stress, Psychological/complications , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: It has been suggested that childhood pain could be the beginning of a career with chronic disabling pain. Bodily pain is frequent in children. We examined the association between self-reported bodily pain, mental distress and sleep problems in schoolchildren to test the following hypotheses: (i) that self-reported bodily pain is associated with mental distress and sleep problems, (ii) that the association is dependent on the localization of pain, and (iii) that the association increases with number of painful areas. Eighty-six percent of the pupils (569) in the 4th form (mean age 10.5 y), 7th form (mean age 13.5 y) and 9th form (mean age 15.5 y) from all the schools in a local community answered a questionnaire about self-esteem, body-image, physical activity and bodily pain. We found a strong association between the reporting of pain, mental distress and sleep problems. Pain in the knees was the only problem reported more frequently by boys than by girls, and knee pain did not show the same association with mental distress and sleep problems as pain from other regions. CONCLUSIONS: A possible cause-effect relationship between pain, mental distress and sleep problems is discussed, and the possibility that all the complaints are the simultaneous signs of a multisymptom syndrome is introduced.
Subject(s)
Depression/psychology , Pain , Sleep Wake Disorders , Adolescent , Body Image , Child , Chronic Disease , Depression/complications , Depression/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Knee , Male , Norway/epidemiology , Pain/diagnosis , Pain/epidemiology , Pain/etiology , Self Concept , Sex Factors , Sleep Wake Disorders/diagnosis , Sleep Wake Disorders/epidemiology , Sleep Wake Disorders/etiology , Students/statistics & numerical data , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
It has been suggested that musculoskeletal symptoms develop from early age and can be regarded as a lifespan phenomenon. The study of childhood pain might provide a better understanding of the origin of chronic pain in adults. In a study of 569 schoolchildren, aged 10-15 years, in a local community close to Oslo, 75% reported that they usually experience bodily pain. Girls reported more pain than boys. 25% of those reporting pain experience symptoms several days a week. Knee symptoms and back pain were most frequently reported. Thirty-seven % of the girls reported headache, only 20% of the boys. Girls also reported more neck and shoulder pain than boys. The oldest respondents reported symptoms from more body parts. Symptoms from several body parts were more frequent among girls. Thirty-eight % of the respondents reported that it sometimes is hard to concentrate because of the pain, and 26% reported that they sometimes have to use medication. The consequences of pain increased with increasing age and increasing number of body parts affected. The results are consistent with findings in the adult population.
