Pain in idiopathic scoliosis not associated with known genetic variants for pain

Introduction: Back pain is common in idiopathic scoliosis. The aim of this study was to study known genetic variants associated with pain in individuals with idiopathic scoliosis.

Methods: We included 1442 individuals with juvenile or adolescent idiopathic scoliosis from Sweden and Denmark. Single nucleotide variants (SNV) genotyping was performed on 37 SNVs. Pain was assessed using 2 questionnaires. The mean pain domain score on the Scoliosis Research Society 22 revised questionnaire (SRS-22r) ranging between 1 (worst) and 5 (best) was dichotomized into a "back pain group" (score <4) and a "no back pain group" (score ≥4). The EuroQol 5-dimensions (EQ-5D) 3 level pain domain was dichotomized into a "no pain group" and a "pain group." Odds ratios were used to describe the associations.

Results: Based on the SRS-22r pain domain scores, 456 individuals (32%) reported back pain. Based on the EQ-5D questionnaire, 813 individuals (56%) reported moderate or extreme pain/discomfort. The odds ratio for the associations between the selected genetic variants and back pain or pain in general as measured with SRS-22r and EQ-5D-3L ranged between 0.88 to 1.17 and 0.86 to 1.16, with P-values ranging between 0.08 to 0.99 and 0.08 to 0.95.

Conclusion: This study suggests that known genetic variants associated with pain do not play a significant role in the development of pain in individuals with idiopathic scoliosis.