PSYCHIATRIC-SYMPTOMS IN PREADOLESCENTS WITH MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN AND FIBROMYALGIA

Objectives. To study the association of musculoskeletal pain with emot ional and behavioral problems, especially depressive symptoms in Finni sh preadolescents. Study Design. A structured pain questionnaire was c ompleted by 1756 third- and fifth-grade schoolchildren for identifying children with widespread pain (WSP), children with neck pain (NP), an d pain-free controls for the comparative study. There were 124 childre n with WSP (mean age, 10.7 years), 108 children with NP (mean age, 11. 1 years), and 131 controls (mean age, 10.7 years) who completed the Ch ildren's Depression Inventory (CDI) and a sleep questionnaire. A blind ed clinical examination was done to detect fibromyalgia. For parental evaluation, the Child Behavior Checklist and a sociodemographic questi onnaire were used. For teacher evaluation the Teacher Report Form was used. Results. Children with WSP had significantly higher total emotio nal and behavioral scores than controls, according to child and parent evaluation. A significant difference in the mean total CDI scores was also found between the WSP and NP groups. Children with fibromyalgia had significantly higher CDI scores than the other children with WSP. Conclusions. Musculoskeletal pain, especially fibromyalgia, and depres sive symptoms had high comorbidity. Pain and depressive symptoms shoul d be recognized to prevent a chronic pain problem.