Highlights
- •This is the first quantitative sensory testing study on adults with low birth weight.
- •Thermal detection and pain sensitivity were similar in low birth weight and control young adults.
- •Groupwise prevalence of self-reported chronic pain were not reliably different.
Abstract
The objective of this prospective long-term follow-up study was to investigate whether
somatosensory function is altered among young adults born preterm with very low birth
weight (VLBW; ≤1,500 g) or small for gestational age (SGA; <10th percentile) at term.
In a blinded quantitative sensory testing protocol, we determined thermal detection,
thermal pain, and pressure pain thresholds and the response to prolonged supra-threshold
heat among 51 VLBW, 66 term SGA, and 86 term-born controls (birth weight ≥10th percentile)
at 28 years. Self-reported chronic pain was also investigated. Except for increased
sensitivity to cool in the term SGA group versus controls, we found no significant
group differences regarding thermal or pain thresholds. Overall, male participants
had higher pain thresholds, and no significant interactions of group and sex were
observed (P > .14). Within the VLBW group, neonatal mechanical ventilation was associated with
reduced sensitivity to cool, and length of mechanical ventilation correlated with
lower pressure pain thresholds. The response to prolonged supra-threshold heat was
similar between the groups, and the prevalence of self-reported chronic pain was not
reliably different. In conclusion, low birth weight young adults were as sensitive
to thermal and pain stimuli as term-born, normal birth weight controls, with the same
sex differences.
Perspective
To our knowledge, this is the first report on thermal and pain sensitivity among young
adults born preterm with VLBW or SGA at term. The negative results from a comprehensive
quantitative sensory testing protocol oppose previous findings of altered sensory
perception among children and adolescents born preterm.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 22, 2018
Accepted:
March 1,
2018
Received in revised form:
January 10,
2018
Received:
November 1,
2017
Footnotes
The present study was funded by the Liaison Committee between Trondheim University Hospital and the NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The control and term small for gestational age study groups originate from a multicenter study sponsored by the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development contract numbers 1-HD-4-2803 and 1-HD-1-3127). The Norwegian University of Science and Technology funded the PhD candidate. The test equipment was provided by NeXt Move, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. NeXt Move is funded by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the Central Norway Regional Health Authority.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Supplementary data accompanying this article are available online at www.jpain.org and www.sciencedirect.com.
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© 2018 by the American Pain Society
