Chronic and recurrent pain not associated with a disease is very common in childhood
and adolescence, but studies of pain prevalence have yielded inconsistent findings.
This systematic review examined studies of chronic and recurrent pain prevalence to
provide updated aggregated prevalence rates. The review also examined correlates of
chronic and recurrent pain such as age, sex, and psychosocial functioning. Studies
of pain prevalence rates in children and adolescents published in English or French
between 1991 and 2009 were identified using EMBASE, Medline, CINAHL, and PsycINFO
databases. Of 185 published papers yielded by the search, 58 met inclusion criteria
and were reviewed, and 41 were included in the review. Two independent reviewers screened
papers for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed the quality of studies. Prevalence
rates ranged substantially, and were as follows: headache: 8-83%; abdominal pain:
4-53%; back pain: 14-24%; musculoskeletal pain: 4-40%; multiple pains: 4-49%; other
pains: 5-88%. Pain prevalence rates were generally higher in girls and increased with
age for most pain types. Lower socioeconomic status was associated with higher pain
prevalence especially for headache. Most studies did not meet quality criteria.
Copyright © 2011 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier
B.V. All rights reserved.