Pain perceived in a national community sample of German children and adolescents

Background: Pain among children is common, yet far less studied compared to that among adults. Little has been reported regarding various types of pain in a national community sample of German children.

Methods: We examined pain experienced within a 3 month timeframe among 14,836 children and adolescents aged 3-17 years old, who participated in the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) 2003-2006.

Results: The 3-month prevalence rate was 71% for any pain, 47% for recurrent pain, 55% for pain at multiple (≥2) locations and 27% for recurrent pain at multiple locations. Headache and abdominal pain were the most frequently reported (44.2%, 40.8%) either as recurrent (22.8%, 20.3%) or as the most bothersome pain (MBP) (19.6%, 14.7%). Children from immigrant vs. non-immigrant families and children from lower vs. upper social-class families showed significantly higher prevalence rates for tooth (14% vs. 10%), lower abdomen (10% vs. 7%), chest (9% vs. 7%), arm (9% vs. 6%) and eye pain (9% vs. 5%). Of children with repeated MBP, only 10% of them used medications or consulted a doctor about the pain 'often/always,' while the majority of them did not act at all. In general, older age groups, females, poor health status and urban residence were associated with pain in children.

Conclusions: The rather high pain prevalence suggests pain among children may be a potential public health issue. Further studies are required to investigate the characteristics and correlational attributes of children suffering most frequently from pain and children from families with low socioeconomic status.