Abstract
Objectives: Recurrent pain is a prevalent and severe public health problem among adolescents and is associated with several negative health outcomes. In a representative sample of adolescents this study examined 1) whether exposure to bullying and low socioeconomic status (SES) were associated with recurrent headache, stomachache and backpain, 2) the combined effect of exposure to bullying and low SES on recurrent pain and 3) whether SES modified the association between bullying and recurrent pain.
Methods: Data derived from the Danish contribution to the international collaborative study Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC). The study population was students in three age groups, 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds from nationally representative samples of schools. We pooled participants from the surveys in 2010, 2014 and 2018, n=10,738.
Results: The prevalence of recurrent pain defined as pain 'more than once a week' was high: 11.7% reported recurrent headache, 6.1% stomachache, and 12.1% backpain. The proportion who reported at least one of these pains 'almost every day' was 9.8%. Pain was significantly associated with exposure to bullying at school and low parental SES. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR, 95% CI) for recurrent headache when exposed to both bullying and low SES was 2.69 (1.75-4.10). Equivalent estimates for recurrent stomachache were 5.80 (3.69-9.12), for backpain 3.79 (2.58-5.55), and for any recurrent pain 4.81 (3.25-7.11).
Conclusions: Recurrent pain increased with exposure to bullying in all socioeconomic strata. Students with double exposure, i.e., to bullying and low SES, had the highest OR for recurrent pain. SES did not modify the association between bullying and recurrent pain.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | Scandinavian Journal of Pain |
| Vol/bind | 23 |
| Udgave nummer | 3 |
| Sider (fra-til) | 563-570 |
| ISSN | 1877-8860 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 6. jun. 2023 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:Research funding: The Nordea foundation (grant number 02-2011-0122) provided economic support for the 2010 study and The Danish Health Authority (grant number 1-1010-274/13) for the 2018 survey. The funding agencies did not interfere in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing of this article or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. None of the authors received any honorarium, grant or other form of payment to produce the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.