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

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.

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.

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.

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.