Psychiatric Illnesses in Adolescents Contribute to Chronic Pain

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America has acknowledged that people with anxiety disorders suffer from various chronic pain issues, such as migraines, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and back pain. A recent study conducted in Norway was the first to relate such troubles to adolescents.

Professor Marit Sæbø Indredavik and her researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology believe that mental health problems diagnosed in adolescents can play a role in suffering physical pain. The study was conducted between 2009-2011 and surveyed 566 teenagers ranging from 13 to 18 years old who suffered from conditions that included ADHD, depression and anxiety. They were asked if they experienced any sort of physical pain and if so, they were asked to list what kind of pain and where on their body. The results were published in BMC Psychiatry.

Although the Anxiety and Depression Association of America enumerates ways to alleviate physical pain suffered from various mental illnesses, it does not particularly focus on adolescents. Professor Indredavik believes that it's imperative to put considerable effort in focusing on adolescents with these issues before it's too late for them to manage their pain.

The numbers from her study reveal startling results, with seven out of ten adolescents reporting that they suffered from chronic pain, and eight out of ten among those that suffered from depression. Regardless of mental health issues, adolescent girls reported having more pain than boys.

Wenche Langfjord Mangerud was one of the main contributors of the study alongside Indredavik. She acknowledged that it is very difficult to detect and treat such problems in adolescents, but something needs to be done in order to create more awareness.

"Both anxiety and depression on their own can decrease the quality of life for these adolescents," Mangerud said in this EurekAlert! article. "Now we see that they also suffer from chronic pain. It is important that treatment in their younger years be effective, so that these problems don't continue into adulthood, as they unfortunately often do."

Mangerud mentioned that there are very few child and adolescent physiotherapists, which may change quickly if further studies can help support this pioneering one.