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Cited by 287Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ResearchChild Abuse and TraumaPediatric Pain Management Techniques

Adverse events in childhood and chronic widespread pain in adult life: results from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study

Jones, Gareth T., Power, Chris, Macfarlane, Gary J.·2009·Pain
DOI 10.1016/j.pain.2009.02.003
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Abstract

Chronic widespread pain (CWP) is a common and frequently disabling condition. Several studies have shown that early life adversity is associated with CWP in later life; however, the majority are retrospective and suffer from potential recall bias. Using data from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study, the aim of the current study was to examine, prospectively, the relationship between childhood physical and psychological adversity and CWP in adulthood. At 7 yrs data were collected, by parental report, on physically traumatic events (hospitalisation following a road traffic accident, or for surgery); and factors indicating poor social and psychological environment (periods in local authority care, death of a parent; or parental divorce, alcoholism, or financial hardship). CWP was assessed at 45 yrs using self-completion questionnaires. The relationship between childhood events and CWP was examined using Poisson regression. 7571 individuals provided pain data at 45 yrs (71.5%). There was no association between childhood surgery and CWP in adulthood (relative risk: 1.0; 95%CI: 0.9-1.1). However, children who had been hospitalised following a road traffic accident experienced a significant increase in the risk of future CWP (1.5; 1.05-2.1). Children who had resided in institutional care also experienced an increase in the risk of CWP (1.7; 1.3-2.4) as did those who experienced maternal death (2.0; 1.08-3.7) and familial financial hardship (1.6; 1.3-1.9). Further these associations were not explained by adult psychological distress or social class. To prevent long-term consequences of adverse childhood events, future research should study the mechanisms, in particular the biological mechanisms, underlying these relationships.

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  • Migraine and temporomandibular disorders have similar prevalence in prepubescent males and females, with differences emerging after puberty.

    “studies demonstrating similar prevalence across prepubescent males and females for conditions such as migraine and temporomandibular disorders with differences in prevalence emerging after puberty 149, 182–184.”

    From Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes (2018) · cites this paper as [182]

  • More ELA exposure is linked to higher risk of many mental and physical health conditions across life and to earlier death.

    “Greater exposure to ELA is associated with elevated risk of a wide range of mental and physical health outcomes across the lifespan, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, respiratory diseases, chronic pain, gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders, and neurological and musculoskeletal problems,4–14 as well as premature mortality.15,16”

    From Early life adversity and health-risk behaviors: Proposed psychological and neural mechanisms (2018) · cites this paper as [10]

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Authors
Jones, G. T., Power, C., & Macfarlane, G. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Aberdeen (GB)
  • University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Jones, Gareth T.
ORCID
Venue
Pain
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2009-05
Volume
143
Issue
1
Pages
92-96
ISSN
0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.pain.2009.02.003
OpenAlex
W2053401610
Cited by
287
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 13
FWCI
9.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Pain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pediatric Pain Management Techniques
Keywords
chronic widespread pain, childhood adversity, early trauma, institutional care, parental death, financial hardship, pediatric surgery, psychological distress, social class
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Child, Child, Preschool, Chronic Disease, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Male, Pain, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Stress, Psychological, Cohort Studies, Comorbidity, Causality, Incidence, Risk Assessment, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse, Young Adult

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