Prevalência e caracterização da dor recorrente em escolares na cidade de Londrina

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence of recurrent pain in school children and adolescents in the city of Londrina, characterize the pain episodes and verify the existing associations between the pain and the studied variables. An epidemiological cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample was representative for school children and adolescents in Londrina ranging from 7-14 years of age that were interviewed in the school, after their parents’ consent. Out of the 915 students that were interviewed, 28.75% mentioned some recurrent pain according to the criteria for each pain region and 3.39% had pain in more than one region. Headache was the most frequent pain (15.96%), followed by pain in the limbs (6.99%) and abdominal pain (6.78%). There was no association between general pain and gender, age, social class, the chief of the family’s schooling, parents’ marital status, order of birth and the mother’s work. The recurrent abdominal pain was statistically associated with age. Pain in the limbs was related to social class and the chief of the family’s schooling. Children born from families with a history of pain showed more prevalence of recurrent pain when compared to those families with no pain complaints (p=0.001). More than half of the children had problems with assiduity as well as in leisure activities.