PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jeremy Gauntlett-Gilbert
AU  - Chandrika Bhat
AU  - Jacqui Clinch
TI  - Body mass in adolescents with chronic pain: observational study
AID  - 10.1136/archdischild-2019-317843
DP  - 2020 May 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood
PG  - 476--480
VI  - 105
IP  - 5
4099  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/105/5/476.short
4100  - http://adc.bmj.com/content/105/5/476.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child2020 May 01; 105
AB  - Objective In a paediatric chronic pain population, to determine whether higher body mass was associated with poorer functioning, mood or treatment outcome.Design Cross-sectional study with examination of treatment outcomes.Setting Tertiary specialist adolescent pain rehabilitation unit.Patients 355 adolescents with relatively severe non-malignant chronic pain.Interventions Intensive 3-week pain rehabilitation programme.Main outcome measures Objective physical measures (walk, sit-to-stand); self-reported functioning and moodResults Average body mass index (BMI) in the sample was relatively high (24.2 (SD 5.6)) with 20.5% being classified as obese. However, there were no relationships between body mass and objective physical measures, physical or social functioning, depression or anxiety (all p>0.05). There was a small relationship between higher body mass and greater pain-related fear (r=0.17, p<0.01). Treatment improved all variables (p<0.001) apart from pain intensity. There were no relationships between higher body mass and poorer treatment outcome; in fact, patients with higher BMI showed slightly greater decreases in depression (r=0.12, p<0.05) and pain-specific anxiety (r=0.18, p<0.01) during treatment.Conclusions Higher body mass does not worsen functioning, mood or treatment response in adolescents with disabling chronic pain. Childhood obesity and chronic pain are both stigmatised conditions; clinicians should avoid implying that high body mass alone is a causal factor in the struggles of a young person with chronic pain.