A greater number of somatic pain sites is associated with poor mental health in adolescents: a cross-sectional study

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Toshi A Furukawa¹  Norihito Oshima²  Tsukasa Sasaki²  Kiyoto Kasai³  Syudo Yamasaki³  Shuntaro Ando⁴  Shinji Shimodera⁵  Shimpei Inoue⁵  Nozomu Asukai⁶  Atsushi Nishida⁶  Yuji Okazaki⁷  Yoshio Mino⁸ 

[1] Department of Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Kyoto University School of Public Health, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8501, Kyoto, Japan;Department of Health Education, Graduate School of Education and Office for Mental Health Support, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-8655, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-8655, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Kamikitazawa 2-1-6, Setagaya-ku, 156-8506, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kochi Medical School, Kohasu Oko-cho, Nankoku, 783-8505, Kochi, Japan;Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Kamikitazawa 2-1-6, Setagaya-ku, 156-8506, Tokyo, Japan;Matsuzawa Hospital, Kamikitazawa 2-1-1, Setagaya-ku, 156-0057, Tokyo, Japan;Mino Clinic, 8F Urban Office Building, Shimo-ishii 1-1-1, Kita-ku, Okayama-shi, 700-0907, Okayama, Japan;

关键词: Number;    Somatic pain site;    Poor mental health;    Adolescents;    Males and females;    Academic impairment;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-13-30

 received in 2012-05-15, accepted in 2013-01-15,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIdentifying indicators of poor mental health during adolescence is a significant public health issue. Previous studies which suggested an association between the number of somatic pains and depression have mainly focused on adults or have employed samples with a narrow age range. To date, results from previous studies have been inconsistent regarding the association between somatic pain and academic impairment. Therefore, the main aims of the present study were to 1) investigate the association between the number of somatic pain sites and poor mental health using a community sample of adolescents aged 12 to 18 years and employing a simple method of assessment, and 2) examine the association between the number of somatic pain sites and perceived academic impairment.MethodsData analysis was conducted using a large cross-sectional survey of adolescents in grades 7 to 12. The one-month prevalence rates for three sites of somatic pain including head, neck and shoulders, and abdomen were examined. Poor mental health was evaluated using the General Health Questionnaire, and perceived academic impairment was measured using a self-report questionnaire.ResultsA total of 18,104 adolescents participated in the survey. A greater number of pain sites was associated with poor mental health, and this association was consistent across age and gender. There was no difference in effect on mental health between any of the pain sites. Although there was an association between the number of somatic pain sites and perceived academic impairment, the results suggested that the association was mediated by poor mental health.ConclusionsSimple reporting methods for assessing the number of pain sites may be a feasible indicator of poor mental health in adolescents. Professionals working with adolescents should consider the possibility of poor mental health, especially when students report multiple somatic pains.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Ando et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.