Chronic pain prevalence and associated factors in adolescents with and without physical disabilities

• Published in: Developmental medicine and child neurology 2018-06, Vol.60 (6), p.596-601
• Main Authors: Vega, Rocío, Groenewald, Cornelius, Bromberg, Maggie H, Beals‐Erickson, Sarah E, Palermo, Tonya M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age Factors; Chronic Pain - epidemiology; Chronic Pain - ethnology; Chronic Pain - physiopathology; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disability Evaluation; Disabled Persons - psychology; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mood Disorders - epidemiology; Mood Disorders - etiology; Pain Measurement; Prevalence; Sex Factors
• ISSN: 0012-1622; 1469-8749
• DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.13705

Aim Adolescents with physical disabilities may have co‐occurring chronic pain, but the prevalence and specific associated factors are unknown. The aims of this study were to determine (1) the prevalence of chronic pain in adolescents with physical disabilities and (2) whether known correlates of chronic pain in the general population are also present in young people both with physical disability and with chronic pain relative to peers. Method We conducted a secondary analysis of cross‐sectional nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to identify demographic and psychosocial factors associated with chronic pain. Results A total of 989 (4.3%) adolescents reported physical disabilities. They had a significantly higher rate of pain (27.2%) compared with able‐bodied peers (15.6%, χ2=86.3550, p