<p>The Fear of Pain Questionnaire: psychometric properties of a Brazilian version for adolescents and its relationship with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)</p>

Abstract

Objectives The primary aim was to assess the psychometric properties (including internal consistency, construct validity, criterion validity, criterion-group validity and responsiveness) of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FOPQ) for adolescents (FOPQ-A) and parents (FOPQ-P) translated to Brazilian Portuguese (BrP). The secondary aim was to analyze the factor structures and their ability to identify subjects with chronic pain conditions and identify the relationship of the BrP FOPQ-A with saliva brain-derived neurotrophic-factor (BDNF). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 286 adolescents aged 11 to 18 (257 healthy adolescents [157 females] and 29 adolescents with chronic pain [16 females]). Parents and adolescents completed the BrP-FOPQ. A team of experts translated the FOPQ according to international guidelines. Convergent validity and factor analysis were performed. Later, a subsample (n=146) was used to correlate the BrP-FOPQ-A with saliva BDNF. Results The BrP-FOPQ for adolescents and parents presented strong psychometric properties (Cronbach’s α equal to 0.92 and 0.91, respectively). BrP-FOPQ-A confirmatory factor analysis yielded a two-factor structure while the factorial analyses of BrP-FOPQ-P demonstrated that the best solution was a three-structure factorial. The BrP-FOPQ-P scores in healthy adolescents and those in chronic pain conditions was 34.13 (16.71) vs 43.14 (18.08), respectively. A generalized mixed model demonstrated that the scores in the BrP-FOPQ-A are higher in those with chronic pain conditions compared to healthy subjects (29.20 [12.77] vs 33.80 [10.76], respectively; Wald χ 2 = 17.80; df =1, P <0.0001). The model revealed that the BDNF was positively correlated with the score of BrP-FOPQ-A and subjects with chronic pain showed higher levels of BDNF. Conclusion The BrP-FOPQ scores for adolescents and parents were found to be psychometrically robust and reliable instruments, with primary evidence of validity. Higher scores on the BrP-FOPQ-A were correlated positively with saliva BDNF and permitted the identification of subjects with chronic pain conditions.

Altered levels of salivary and plasma pain related markers in temporomandibular disorders

“…Plasma BDNF levels on the other hand, showed as expected higher levels in TMD-myalgia. This finding is supported by previous studies in migraine and cluster headache [ 26 ] as well some other chronic pain conditions [ 7 , 30 , 48 ]. Therefore, the increase of plasma BDNF might be interpreted as a general reaction to nociception/pain [ 7 ], but this warrants further investigation.…”

“…Most of the past studies on putative biomarkers of chronic pain have assessed plasma, cerebrospinal or interstitial muscle concentrations [6]. Relatively fewer studies have investigated biomarker levels in saliva in chronic pain [12,17,18,22,25,26,[28][29][30][31]. Saliva can potentially be used as a specimen for diagnosis in TMD because it can exchange substances with blood.…”

Abordagem terapêutica do medo relacionado à dor e da evitação em adultos com dor musculoesquelética crônica: revisão integrativa e roteiro para o clínico

“…The use of self-administered questionnaires also plays a role in the evaluation of people with pain. A number of questionnaires have been developed to assist in the assessment of pain-related fear and avoidance behaviors, such as the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) 49 , Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia 50 , Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) 51 and Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FOPQ) 52 . Although they provide quantitative measures that help to identify patients at higher risk of poor prognosis, these instruments do not explore the individuality of factors associated with fear in CP patients, such as dysfunctional beliefs about pain.…”

Translation and Validation of Fear of Pain-9 Items into Simplified Chinese Version for Mainland China

“…2 With higher FOP when experiencing painful events, nonclinical patients may report higher pain degrees, 3 whereas chronic patients may report more pain density, worse activity performance and lower quality of life. 4,5 To assess FOP in the pain population, professor McNeil developed the fear of pain questionnaire-III (FOP-III) 6 in 1998, which has been widely validated in many different countries, including China, 7 Portugal, 8 Turkey, 9 Dutch, 10 Italy, 11 and Brazil, 12 and exhibited excellent reliability and validity in various cultures. Although it has been confirmed applicable to evaluating not only trait FOP but also state FOP in nonclinical 13 and clinical people, 14 FOP-III is still not brief enough for the administration of patients in busy outpatient and inpatient settings.…”