Abstract
No previous studies have investigated the prevalence of co-occurring neck/shoulder pain, other musculoskeletal pain, headache and depressive symptoms in adolescents. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of isolated neck/shoulder pain and the co-occurrence of neck/shoulder pain with other musculoskeletal pain, headache and depressive symptoms in Norwegian adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study using data from the Norwegian Ungdata survey (2017-2019). Adolescents from almost all municipalities in Norway answered a comprehensive questionnaire, including physical complaints. We investigated the prevalence of self-reported neck/shoulder pain in isolation and neck/shoulder pain in combination with other musculoskeletal pain, headache and depressive symptoms. The results were presented with per cent and stratified by school level and sex. In total, 253,968 adolescents (50% girls) participated in the study, of which 56.5% were from lower secondary school. The total prevalence of neck/shoulder pain was 24%, but only 5% reported isolated neck/shoulder pain. Among students reporting neck/shoulder pain, half of them also reported other musculoskeletal pain, and 50% of the boys and 70% of the girls reported co-occurring headache. Depressive symptoms were reported in 28% of the boys and 45% of the girls with neck/shoulder pain. Neck/shoulder pain in adolescents is seldom isolated, but seems to co-occur with headache, other musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms. Researchers and clinicians should keep a broader health perspective in mind when approaching adolescents with neck/shoulder pain. One in five adolescents reported neck/shoulder pain in this large population-based study of Norwegian adolescents. A majority of adolescents reported neck/shoulder pain in co-occurrence with other musculoskeletal pain, headache and depression. Researchers and clinicians should assess these comorbidities when assessing adolescents with neck/shoulder pain.
Highlights
Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is the number 1 cause of years lived with disabilities (YLD) globally and often with the first onset in adolescence (Batley et al, 2019; Hoftun et al, 2011; Rathleff et al, 2013)
Numbers from the Young-HUNT3 Study (13–18 years of age) in Norway found that isolated neck/shoulder pain was reported by 3.2%, and neck/shoulder pain in combination with other pain conditions was reported by 17% (Hoftun et al, 2011)
3.1 | Prevalence of isolated neck/shoulder pain and co-o ccurrences in the total sample
Summary
Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is the number 1 cause of years lived with disabilities (YLD) globally and often with the first onset in adolescence (Batley et al, 2019; Hoftun et al, 2011; Rathleff et al, 2013). Neck/shoulder pain is the most prevalent of the MSK pain conditions among adolescents (Auvinen et al, 2009; Batley et al, 2019; Stallknecht et al, 2017), and neck pain ranks as number 8 of all causes of YLD among 15-to 19-y ear-o ld adolescents globally (Hurwitz et al, 2018). No previous studies have investigated the prevalence of co-occurring neck/shoulder pain, other musculoskeletal pain, headache and depressive symptoms in adolescents. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of isolated neck/shoulder pain and the co-occurrence of neck/shoulder pain with other musculoskeletal pain, headache and depressive symptoms in Norwegian adolescents. Researchers and clinicians should assess these comorbidities when assessing adolescents with neck/shoulder pain
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