OBJECTIVES: Back pain is one of the major problems for the public health system in the western world. The purposes of this study were to assess back pain in a large cohort of adolescents; to evaluate the prevalence, intensity, and features; and obtain information about drug management of this symptom. METHODS: One thousand four hundred seventy-one healthy students aged 14 to 19 years were enrolled in the study. The subjects underwent a face-to-face interview using an ad hoc questionnaire, the Numeric Rating Scale, the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory, and the Short-Form 36 questionnaire. RESULTS: Sixty-eight percent of adolescents reported moderate to severe pain, with a higher prevalence of moderate/severe pain in female. The intensity of pain was higher (P < 0.001) in females than in men. A correlation was found between pain and quality of life. Considering the adolescents with severe pain, 21.6% requested a doctor's opinion, and 18% used analgesics (63.2% of them without a doctor's prescription), with a frequency of about 2 times per month. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the prevalence of back pain in adolescents is very high, with the consequences on quality of life, and it becomes frequently a self-managed symptom. This should encourage research on the causes of pain in order to limit the risk factors underlying the pain development and obtain a good prevention strategy.

Iacovelli, C., Germanotta, M., Coraci, D., Mosca, R., Vincenzi, M., Gilardi, A., Padua, L., Aprile, I., Back Pain in Adolescents: Characteristics, Quality of Life, and Drug Self-Management: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1301 Italian Students, <<PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY CARE>>, 2019; 2019 (August): 1-3. [doi:10.1097/PEC.0000000000001876] [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/141888]

Back Pain in Adolescents: Characteristics, Quality of Life, and Drug Self-Management: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1301 Italian Students

Iacovelli, C;Germanotta, M;Coraci, D;Padua, L;Aprile, I
2019

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Back pain is one of the major problems for the public health system in the western world. The purposes of this study were to assess back pain in a large cohort of adolescents; to evaluate the prevalence, intensity, and features; and obtain information about drug management of this symptom. METHODS: One thousand four hundred seventy-one healthy students aged 14 to 19 years were enrolled in the study. The subjects underwent a face-to-face interview using an ad hoc questionnaire, the Numeric Rating Scale, the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory, and the Short-Form 36 questionnaire. RESULTS: Sixty-eight percent of adolescents reported moderate to severe pain, with a higher prevalence of moderate/severe pain in female. The intensity of pain was higher (P < 0.001) in females than in men. A correlation was found between pain and quality of life. Considering the adolescents with severe pain, 21.6% requested a doctor's opinion, and 18% used analgesics (63.2% of them without a doctor's prescription), with a frequency of about 2 times per month. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the prevalence of back pain in adolescents is very high, with the consequences on quality of life, and it becomes frequently a self-managed symptom. This should encourage research on the causes of pain in order to limit the risk factors underlying the pain development and obtain a good prevention strategy.
2019
Inglese
Iacovelli, C., Germanotta, M., Coraci, D., Mosca, R., Vincenzi, M., Gilardi, A., Padua, L., Aprile, I., Back Pain in Adolescents: Characteristics, Quality of Life, and Drug Self-Management: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1301 Italian Students, <<PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY CARE>>, 2019; 2019 (August): 1-3. [doi:10.1097/PEC.0000000000001876] [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/141888]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10807/141888
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