Pain Catastrophizing Moderates the Relationship Between Pain Sensitivity and Clinical Pain in Adolescents With Functional Abdominal Pain.

ABSTRACT: Pain catastrophizing has been linked to amplified pain sensitivity assessed using quantitative sensory testing (QST) in adults; pediatric data are limited, particularly in youth with functional abdominal pain (FAP). With increasing use of QST to evaluate somatosensory function and predict pain outcomes, we examined the associations between QST and clinical pain in adolescents with FAP and tested the moderating effects of pain catastrophizing. Seventy-seven adolescents (mean age 16.6 years, 85.7% female, 72.7% White, 90.8% non-Hispanic) who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for FAP completed QST assessment (pressure pain threshold and tolerance, heat pain threshold, conditioned pain modulation) and measures of abdominal pain intensity, pain interference, and pain catastrophizing. Adjusting for

SUBMITTER: Tham SW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11347089 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature