Survey on Sensory Processing Sensitivity in Chronic Pediatric Pain

Completed

• Conditions: Chronic Pain

• Registration Number: NCT04171869
• Lead Sponsor: University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Brief Summary

Background: Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience and in its chronic form, pain is highly prevalent, up to 25% of children and adolescents are affected by it. The exact etiology of many forms of chronic pain remains unknown. One mechanism that has been proposed to underlie increased pain sensitivity is central sensitization, i.e., increased efficacy of the nervous system in transmitting pain signals, which manifests itself as a lower pain threshold. A lower pain threshold in turn has been recognized as a risk factor for the development of chronic pain. Being more sensitive to pain is one feature commonly shared by those with high sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), who are thought to react more strongly to both positive and negative environmental influences. The relationship between this increased sensitivity and pain tolerance has not been studied to date, but could contribute to our understanding of why some children and adolescents are more vulnerable to developing chronic pain than others.

Objectives and Aims: The aim of this project is to increase scientific understanding of 1) the distribution and correlates of high SPS among children and adolescents suffering from chronic pain, and 2) whether the trait of SPS can help explain increased pain sensitivity and hence vulnerability for chronic pain.

Methods: To determine the distribution (aim 1a) and correlates (aim 1b) of SPS among a population of children and adolescents suffering from chronic pain, an online survey will be conducted. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about their SPS as well as pain history and pain characteristics. The distribution of SPS will then be compared to an existing distribution in a sample of healthy children and adolescents.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2019-11-14
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-11-18
• Study First Posted: 2019-11-21
• Study Start: 2020-05-08
• Primary Completion: 2020-08-15
• Status Verified: 2020-09
• Study Completion: 2020-09-30
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-09-30
• Last Update Posted: 2020-10-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 150

Inclusion Criteria

• Adolescents aged 17-19 years
• Persistent or recurrent pain for 3 months or more
• Fluent in German or English

Exclusion Criteria

• Younger than 17 or older than 19 years
• Acute pain

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Highly Sensitive Child Scale	through study completion, an average of 6 months	Sensory Processing Sensitivity
Functional Disability Inventory for children	through study completion, an average of 6 months	Physical functioning and disability in children with chronic pain

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Faculty of Psychology, University of Basel; 🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland