Impact of Sex, Sleep, Symptoms of Central Sensitization, and Psychosocial Factors in Adolescents with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: An Exploratory Study

Objective This study aimed to explore and compare the associations of psychosocial factors, sleep, and central sensitization with chronic neck, back, limb, and multiregional pain and disability. Methods One thousand seven hundred thirty (n = 1,730) adolescents responded to an online questionnaire containing questions about sociodemographic data, as well as the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire; the International Physical Activity Questionnaire; the Functional Disability Inventory; the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale; the Basic Scale on Insomnia Complaints and Quality of Sleep; the Pain Catastrophizing Scale; the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia; the Child Self-Efficacy Scale; and the Central Sensitization Inventory. Univariable and multivariable regression analysis were used to assess the associations between these variables and pain and disability. Results Groups were categorized into those with neck (n = 54), back (n = 80), upper limb (n = 52), lower limb (n = 109), or multiregional (n = 1,140) pain. Multivariable analysis showed that symptoms of central sensitization increased the odds of neck, back, and multiregional pain; depression, anxiety and stress, and physical activity increased the odds of multiregional pain; and fear of movement increased the odds of lower limb pain. Female gender increased the odds of pain in all groups, except in the lower limb group. Depression, anxiety, and stress also remained associated with disability in neck, back, upper limb, and multiregional pain; poorer sleep remained associated with disability in neck, upper limb, and multiregional pain; catastrophizing remained associated with back and multiregional pain; and fear of movement and symptoms of central sensitization were associated with disability only in multiregional pain. Conclusions There are similar but also different variables associated with the presence of pain and disability in the neck, back, limbs, and multiregional pain.

Automated summary

This study explores and compares the associations between psychosocial factors, sleep, and central sensitization with chronic neck, back, limb, and multiregional pain and disability. The results show that there are similar but also different variables associated with the presence of pain and disability in different body regions.