Obesity is a risk factor for musculoskeletal pain in adolescents: Findings from a population-based cohort
Open accessAbstract
Obesity is a risk factor for fibromyalgia in adults, but whether a similar relationship exists in children is uncertain. This study examined whether obesity is associated with reporting of musculoskeletal pain, including chronic regional pain (CRP) and chronic widespread pain (CWP), in adolescents, in a population-based setting. A pain questionnaire was administered to offspring of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children at age 17, asking about site, duration, and pain intensity, from which participants with different types of musculoskeletal pain were identified. Relationships between obesity and pain were examined by calculating odds ratios stratified by gender and adjusted for socioeconomic status as reflected by level of maternal education. A total of 3376 participants (1424 boys) with complete data were identified, mean age 17.8; 44.7% of participants reported any pain within the last month lasting 1day or longer; 16.3% reported lower back pain, 9.6% shoulder pain, 9.4% upper back pain, 8.9% neck pain, 8.7% knee pain, 6.8% ankle/foot pain, 4.7% CRP, and 4.3% CWP; 7.0% of participants were obese. Obesity was associated with increased odds of any pain (odds ratio [OR] 1.33, P=.04), CRP (OR 2.04, P=.005), and knee pain (OR 1.87, P=.001), but not CWP (OR 1.10, P=.5). Compared with non obese participants, those with any pain, knee pain, and CRP reported more severe average pain (P<.01). Obese adolescents were more likely to report musculoskeletal pain, including k…
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JHS was operationalised as meeting two major criteria: the presence of GJH and concomitant CWP, because not all minor criteria were recorded in the ALSPAC cohort at age 18.
“Not all minor criteria were recorded in the ALSPAC cohort at age 18 years, thus JHS was operationalised as meeting two major criteria: the presence of GJH and concomitant CWP.34”
From Variant connective tissue (joint hypermobility) and its relevance to depression and anxiety in adolescents: a cohort-based case–control study (2022) · cites this paper as [34]
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- Authors
- Deere, K. C., Clinch, J., Holliday, K., McBeth, J., Crawley, E. M., Sayers, A., Palmer, S., Doerner, R., Clark, E. M., & Tobias, J. H.
- Affiliations
- Southmead Hospital (GB)
- Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (GB)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- University of the West of England (GB)
- Venue
- Pain
- Published
- 2012-09
- Volume
- 153
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1932-1938
- ISSN
- 0304-3959 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2074361271
- Cited by
- 136
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 13
- FWCI
- 9.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- eprints.uwe.ac.uk
- Licence
- Locations
- Pain (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- UWE Research Repository (UWE Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Explore Bristol Research (submittedVersion)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion)
- UWE Research Repository (UWE Bristol) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- UK Medical Research Council (74882)
- Wellcome Trust (076467)
- Arthritis Research-UK (18185)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- adolescent obesity, musculoskeletal pain, chronic regional pain, chronic widespread pain, knee pain, low back pain, neck pain, pain intensity, fibromyalgia, pain phenotypes, maternal education, socioeconomic status
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Female, Humans, Knee Joint, Male, Obesity, Pain Measurement, Prognosis, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Cohort Studies, Prevalence, Odds Ratio, Low Back Pain, Arthralgia, Neck Pain, Shoulder Pain, Chronic Pain, Musculoskeletal Pain
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