Clinical Profiles of Young Adults With Juvenile‐Onset Fibromyalgia With and Without a History of Trauma

Abstract

Objective The primary objectives of this study were to examine the differential presentation(s) in young adults with Juvenile-onset Fibromyalgia (JFM) with and without a history of trauma as compared to healthy controls across psychological and health-related outcomes. Methods 110 participants (86 with JFM and 24 healthy controls; Mage=23.4 years) completed a structured clinical interview to assess for trauma and psychological comorbidities and self-report questionnaires on pain, physical functioning, and healthcare utilization. Results 37% (n=32) of JFM participants reported a trauma history. Three group comparisons (i.e., JFMTrauma vs. JFMNo Trauma vs. Healthy Controls) revealed that JFM participants significantly differed on all psychological and health-related outcomes from healthy controls. Further, although JFM participants with and without a trauma history did not significantly differ on pain and physical functioning, JFM participants with a trauma history were significantly more likely to have psychological comorbidities. Conclusion The current study is the first controlled study to examine the differential outcomes between JFM participants with and without a history of trauma. Two group comparisons between JFM participants and healthy controls were consistent with previous research. Further, our findings indicate that JFM participants with a trauma history experience greater psychological but not physical impairment than JFM participants without a trauma history.

The Impact of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder on Clinical Presentation and Psychosocial Treatment Response in Youth with Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders: An Exploratory Study

“…Depressive symptoms, pain intensity, and functional disability were not statistically or clinically significantly different between PTSD groups, although the functional disability was trending towards significance. These findings are generally consistent with previous research on the effects of psychological trauma and/or PTSD on pediatric or young adult chronic pain populations in that trauma/PTSD history has been most commonly found to affect psychosocial functioning vs. physical functioning [ 1 ]. However, previous research on chronic pain and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) found a strong association between PTSS and facets of the pain experience, including intensity, interference, and unpleasantness [ 16 ].…”

“…Youth with chronic pain report higher rates of psychological trauma (abuse, neglect, violent or conflictual home environment, etc.) when compared to the average population or healthy controls [ 1 , 2 ]. In particular, functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs), which are common, persistent, and/or recurrent abdominal pain conditions without a clear organic etiology, are worthy of further investigation in relation to trauma.…”

The biopsychosocial model of pain in the context of pediatric burn injuries

“…Accordingly, post‐traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common in youth following burn injury (18%–25%; Corry et al., ; De Young, Kenardy, Cobham, & Kimble, ; Landolt, Buehlmann, Maag, & Schiestl, ) and can be observed in children as young as 12 months old (Stoddard et al., ). Consistent with this line of research, evidence suggests that youth with chronic pain report high exposure to psychological trauma or adverse childhood experiences (Nelson, Simons, & Logan, ; Nelson et al., ; Walker et al., ) and many report experiencing PTSS (Holley, Wilson, Noel, & Palermo, ; Noel et al., ). Similar to other psychological symptoms, the relationship between the experience of pain and trauma or post‐traumatic stress may be bidirectional.…”

Adverse childhood experiences and chronic pain among children and adolescents in the United States

“… 13 However, few studies have examined the prevalence of ACEs and their relationship to chronic pain among children in the United States. Indeed, research to date has focused on a few specific clinical pain samples including fibromyalgia, 15 abdominal pain, 11 complex regional pain syndrome, 28 and migraine headache 8 and those presenting for multidisciplinary chronic pain management. 18 Taken together, the evidence available suggests that youth with chronic pain conditions report ACEs more frequently than youth without chronic pain.…”