Pain in children and adolescents in primary care; chronic and recurrent pain is common

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe a paediatric primary care pain sample and examine associations between pain, health-related quality of life and disability. The study design is descriptive and cross-sectional. One hundred and fifty-four consecutive children and adolescents between the ages of 8 and 16 seeking care for a pain-related conditions participated in this study. Pain characteristics, health-related quality of life and disability were investigated. Eighty-seven per cent of participants had a pain duration of 3 months or more, and almost half of the group studied had a pain duration of ≥ 12 months. The disability levels in the study group as a whole were low, with a mean FDI of 10.4 (SD 7.6). However, 35% of the study group had moderate disability levels and reported a mean FDI of 18.7 (SD 4.8). Single pain location was reported in 42%, whereas 58% had two or more pain locations. The children with multiple pain locations reported lower health-related quality of life and higher disability than children with single pain location. Paediatric pain patients in primary care consist partly of patients only slightly influenced by pain and partly of patients for whom pain has a great impact on their lives.