TY - JOUR
T1 - A population-based study of quantitative sensory testing in adolescents with and without chronic pain
AU - Tham, See Wan
AU - Palermo, Tonya M.
AU - Holley, Amy Lewandowski
AU - Zhou, Chuan
AU - Stubhaug, Audun
AU - Furberg, Anne Sofie
AU - Nielsen, Christopher Sivert
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 International Association for the Study of Pain.
PY - 2016/8/10
Y1 - 2016/8/10
N2 - Quantitative sensory testing (QST) has been used to characterize pain sensitivity in individuals with and without pain conditions. Research remains limited in pediatric populations, hindering the ability to expand the utility of QST toward its potential application in clinical settings and clinical predictive value. The aims of this study were to examine pain sensitivity using QST in adolescents with chronic pain compared to adolescents without chronic pain and identify predictors of pain sensitivity. A population-based study conducted from 2010 to 2011 provided data on 941 adolescents, 197 were classified as having chronic pain and 744 were classified without chronic pain. Self-reported data on pain characteristics, psychological functioning, and QST responses were examined. The findings revealed lower pressure pain threshold and tolerance on the trapezius (P's 0.03) in adolescents with chronic pain compared to adolescents without chronic pain, but no differences on heat or cold-pressor pain tasks. Female sex (P's 0.02) and poorer psychological functioning (P's 0.02) emerged as significant predictors of greater pain sensitivity across all pain modalities. Exploratory analyses revealed several associations between clinical pain characteristics and QST responses within the chronic pain cohort. Findings from this large pediatric sample provide comprehensive data that could serve as normative data on QST responses in adolescents with and without chronic pain. These findings lay the groundwork toward developing future QST research and study protocols in pediatric populations, taking into consideration sex and psychological distress.
AB - Quantitative sensory testing (QST) has been used to characterize pain sensitivity in individuals with and without pain conditions. Research remains limited in pediatric populations, hindering the ability to expand the utility of QST toward its potential application in clinical settings and clinical predictive value. The aims of this study were to examine pain sensitivity using QST in adolescents with chronic pain compared to adolescents without chronic pain and identify predictors of pain sensitivity. A population-based study conducted from 2010 to 2011 provided data on 941 adolescents, 197 were classified as having chronic pain and 744 were classified without chronic pain. Self-reported data on pain characteristics, psychological functioning, and QST responses were examined. The findings revealed lower pressure pain threshold and tolerance on the trapezius (P's 0.03) in adolescents with chronic pain compared to adolescents without chronic pain, but no differences on heat or cold-pressor pain tasks. Female sex (P's 0.02) and poorer psychological functioning (P's 0.02) emerged as significant predictors of greater pain sensitivity across all pain modalities. Exploratory analyses revealed several associations between clinical pain characteristics and QST responses within the chronic pain cohort. Findings from this large pediatric sample provide comprehensive data that could serve as normative data on QST responses in adolescents with and without chronic pain. These findings lay the groundwork toward developing future QST research and study protocols in pediatric populations, taking into consideration sex and psychological distress.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Chronic pain
KW - Quantitative sensory testing
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U2 - 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000716
DO - 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000716
M3 - Article
C2 - 27780176
AN - SCOPUS:84997848619
SN - 0304-3959
VL - 157
SP - 2807
EP - 2815
JO - Pain
JF - Pain
IS - 12
ER -