Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the association of chronic pain with different
lifestyle factors and psychological symptoms in a large, unselected adolescent population.
Pain was evaluated as chronic non-specific pain, chronic multisite pain, and in additional
analyses, chronic pain with high disability. The study was performed during 2006 to
2008 in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway. Adolescents aged 13 to 18 years were invited
to participate. The response rate was 78%. The final study population consisted of
7,373. Sedentary behavior and pain were associated only in girls. In both sexes, overweight
and obesity were associated with increased odds of pain. Whereas both smoking and
alcohol intoxication showed strong associations with pain, the associations were attenuated
after adjustments for psychosocial factors. Symptoms of anxiety and depression showed
the strongest associations with pain (odds ratio 4.1 in girls and 3.7 in boys). The
odds of pain increased gradually by number of unfavorable lifestyle factors reported.
This study revealed consistent associations between lifestyle factors, anxiety and
depression, and chronic pain, including multisite pain and pain with high disability.
The consistency across the different pain categories suggests common underlying explanatory
mechanisms, and despite the cross-sectional design, the study indicates several modifiable
targets in the management of adolescent chronic pain.
Perspective
This study showed a clear and consistent relation between different lifestyle factors,
anxiety and depression, and the pain categories chronic non-specific pain, multisite
pain, and also pain with high disability. Independent of causality, it underlines
the importance of a broad perspective when studying, preventing, and treating chronic
pain in adolescents.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 26, 2012
Accepted:
June 5,
2012
Received in revised form:
May 23,
2012
Received:
March 1,
2012
Footnotes
Funded by Norwegian Women’s Public Health Association (Norske Kvinners Sanitetsforening [NKS]).
All authors declare that there are no financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, or in writing of the manuscript and the decision to submit the article for publication. The researchers are independent from the funders.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc.
