TY - JOUR
T1 - Physically unexplained chronic pain and its impact on children and their families
T2 - the mother's perception
AU - Hunfeld, Joke A M
AU - Perquin, Christel W
AU - Hazebroek-Kampschreur, Alice A J M
AU - Passchier, Jan
AU - van Suijlekom-Smit, Lisette W A
AU - van der Wouden, Johannes C
PY - 2002/9
Y1 - 2002/9
N2 - Because children with physically unexplained chronic pain may become the adult chronic pain patients of the future and because little is known about this pain and its impact on children and their families, a sample of 77 children (aged 5-11 years) with this type of pain was investigated. The hypothesis was tested that a greater intensity and frequency of pain would diminish the child's functional status and increase the impact of pain on the family. All mothers completed questionnaires on their perception of the child's functional status and the impact of pain on the family, and kept a diary on the child's pain for three successive weeks, three times daily, by means of a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a behavioural list. The study was conducted in the general population in the Rotterdam area. Children with physically unexplained chronic pain were sampled from those participating in a prevalence study on chronic pain. The average pain was mild (30 mm on a 0-100 mm VAS), moderately frequent (34% of the diary registration time), increased during the day, and did not result in large school absence or problems with functional status. Pain showed a relatively negative impact on family life, especially restrictions in social life and personal strain were reported, based on behavioural changes. In particular, abdominal pain, headache and limb pain are already present in considerable numbers at a young age. Longitudinal research should determine whether shifts occur in pain experience and locations from childhood and adulthood and in different dimensions of functional status and, more broadly, in quality of life resulting from pain.
AB - Because children with physically unexplained chronic pain may become the adult chronic pain patients of the future and because little is known about this pain and its impact on children and their families, a sample of 77 children (aged 5-11 years) with this type of pain was investigated. The hypothesis was tested that a greater intensity and frequency of pain would diminish the child's functional status and increase the impact of pain on the family. All mothers completed questionnaires on their perception of the child's functional status and the impact of pain on the family, and kept a diary on the child's pain for three successive weeks, three times daily, by means of a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a behavioural list. The study was conducted in the general population in the Rotterdam area. Children with physically unexplained chronic pain were sampled from those participating in a prevalence study on chronic pain. The average pain was mild (30 mm on a 0-100 mm VAS), moderately frequent (34% of the diary registration time), increased during the day, and did not result in large school absence or problems with functional status. Pain showed a relatively negative impact on family life, especially restrictions in social life and personal strain were reported, based on behavioural changes. In particular, abdominal pain, headache and limb pain are already present in considerable numbers at a young age. Longitudinal research should determine whether shifts occur in pain experience and locations from childhood and adulthood and in different dimensions of functional status and, more broadly, in quality of life resulting from pain.
KW - Abdominal Pain/epidemiology
KW - Child
KW - Child, Preschool
KW - Chronic Disease
KW - Complex Regional Pain Syndromes/epidemiology
KW - Cost of Illness
KW - Family Health
KW - Female
KW - Headache/epidemiology
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Mothers/psychology
KW - Pain Measurement
KW - Prevalence
KW - Severity of Illness Index
KW - Somatoform Disorders/epidemiology
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
M3 - Article
C2 - 12396752
VL - 75
SP - 251
EP - 260
JO - Psychology and Psychotherapy
JF - Psychology and Psychotherapy
SN - 1476-0835
IS - Pt 3
ER -