2017-07-01
Self-Reported Presence and Experience of Pain in Adults with Down Syndrome
Publication
Publication
Pain Medicine , Volume 18 - Issue 7 p. 1247- 1263
Objective: The aim was to examine whether the presence of pain (based on physical conditions and participants' report) and self-reported pain experience in adults with Down syndrome (DS) differ from general population controls.Design: Cross-sectional study of 224 adults with DS (mean age = 38.1 years, mild-severe intellectual disabilities) and 142 age-matched controls (median age = 40.5 years, mean estimated IQ = 105.7) in the Netherlands.Methods: File-based medical information was evaluated. Self-reported presence and experience of pain were assessed in rest and after movement during a test session (affect with facial affective scale (FAS: 0.04-0.97), intensity assessed with numeric rating scale (NRS: 0-10).Results: Compared with controls, more DS participants had physical conditions that may cause pain and/or discomfort ( p = .004, 50% vs 35%), but fewer DS participants reported pain during the test session ( p = .003, 58% vs 73%). Of the participants who indicated pain and comprehended self-reporting scales ( n = 198 FAS, n = 161 NRS), the DS group reported a higher pain affect and intensity than the controls ( p < .001, FAS: 0.75-0.85 vs 0.50-0.59, NRS: 6.00-7.94 vs 2.00-3.73).Conclusions: Not all adults with DS and painful/discomforting physical conditions reported pain. Those who did indicated a higher pain experience than adults from the general population. Research into spontaneous self-report of pain, repeated pain assessment, and acute pain is needed in people with DS for more insight into pain experience and mismatches between self-report and medical information.
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doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnw226, hdl.handle.net/1765/106245 | |
Pain Medicine | |
Organisation | Department of General Practice |
de Knegt, N., Lobbezoo, F., Schuengel, C., Evenhuis, H., & Scherder, E. (2017). Self-Reported Presence and Experience of Pain in Adults with Down Syndrome. Pain Medicine, 18(7), 1247–1263. doi:10.1093/pm/pnw226 |