The cross- ethnic variations in the prevalence of headache and other somatic complaints among adolescents in Northern Israel

Abstract

Background: Headache is the most common cause for chronic or recurrent pain in childhood and adolescence. Chronic pain may have a long-term effect on adolescents. It might contribute to functional limitations, such as poor school attendance, and it may adversely affect development of healthy social relationships. The aim of our study was to examine the cross-ethnic variation in the prevalence of headache in a non-clinical sample of adolescents in Northern Israel and to learn about its association to other somatic complaints. Methods: A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was presented to 2,088 tenth grade students attending 19 high-schools in Northern Israel (all the public high schools within two districts). Participants were Jews and Arabs, the latter including Muslim, Christians, and Druze, aged 15 to 16. Parental and student consent was obtained from all participants. The study was approved by the IRB of our institution.

Bullying, abuse and family conflict as risk factors for chronic pain among Dutch adolescents

“…Most adolescents suffering from pain reported pain twice per week, from 3 to 6 months. Our finding is hard to compare with previous research, because studies examining the relationship between chronic pain and immigration in adolescents are rare (Luntamo et al, 2012;Genizi et al, 2013). In addition, many adolescents perceived their pain as interfering with their daily activities, e.g.…”

“…It is noteworthy that we found chronic pain to be more common among Dutch adolescents than among non-Dutch (48%) adolescents. Our finding is hard to compare with previous research, because studies examining the relationship between chronic pain and immigration in adolescents are rare (Luntamo et al, 2012;Genizi et al, 2013). Furthermore, the definitions used for immigration vary enormously.…”

A Broad Consideration of Risk Factors in Pediatric Chronic Pain: Where to Go from Here?

“…Briefly, studies have found the following: (1) participants of European descent were more likely to have juvenile idiopathic arthritis than children of other descent [19]; (2) American Indian adolescents had the highest rate of recurrent headaches followed by white adolescents [20], and Asian and Pacific Island adolescents were the least likely to experience recurrent headaches [20]; (3) African American youths were more likely to experience a variety of pains related to temporomandibular joint disorders than their Caucasian counterparts [21]; (4) Hispanic ethnicity was associated with higher widespread pain scores in children with acute pain, presurgical, and chronic pain [22]; and (5) Jewish children experienced significantly more headaches than Arab children in a sample from Northern Israel [23]. Other groups have found no significant differences among ethnic groups in samples of children with a variety of chronic pain diagnoses [24,25].…”

Primary headaches, attention deficit disorder and learning disabilities in children and adolescents

“…Primary headaches are common in the pediatric population (18.6–27.9%) [1,2], predominantly migraine and tension type headaches [3]. Since primary headaches may become disabling for children, several studies focused on the impact of headaches on school performance [4,5], however the impact was reported to be minimal for most children [6].…”