Associations of widespread pain sensitivity, comorbid chronic pain and psychological distress with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and abdominal pain

Abstract

This is the first report documenting widespread hyperalgesia among adolescent and adult individuals with symptoms of IBS in the general population. Results were found to be independent of sex, comorbid pain and psychological distress. Increased pain sensitivity may contribute in triggering and maintaining chronic pain, but prospective studies are needed to examine these possible causal relationships. The prevalence of depression is considerably increased among adolescents with AP and IBS in the general population, in particular among adolescents with AP reporting severe and widespread abdominal pain, and among adolescents reporting comorbid chronic pain in other body sites. Evaluating these pain symptom dimensions may be of value for identifying subgroups adolescents with AP and IBS that have greater risk of depression.