PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Jackie L Bishop AU - Kate Northstone AU - Pauline M Emmett AU - Jean Golding TI - Parental accounts of the prevalence, causes and treatments of limb pain in children aged 5 to 13 years: a longitudinal cohort study AID - 10.1136/adc.2009.181149 DP - 2012 Jan 01 TA - Archives of Disease in Childhood PG - 52--53 VI - 97 IP - 1 4099 - http://adc.bmj.com/content/97/1/52.short 4100 - http://adc.bmj.com/content/97/1/52.full SO - Arch Dis Child2012 Jan 01; 97 AB - The frequency, cause and treatment of limb pain were ascertained in a cohort of children at six time points between the ages of 5 and 13 years. Data were collected using self-completion questionnaires sent to the chief carers of children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Reports of limb pain over the study period doubled from 15.1% of children aged 5 to 32.5% aged 13; 3.4% of children had limb pain at all time points, 43.4% never reported limb pain and 56.6% reported limb pain on at least one occasion. Growing pains were the most common ‘cause’ given for limb pains. Limb pain and growing pains were each associated with a family history of arthritis and rheumatism. Limb pain prevalence may have been under-reported in this study due to gradual attrition, particularly in the less educated mothers among whom the highest prevalence of limb pain was reported.