Prevalence of pain in university students
A systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-6108.2021.1.38883Keywords:
student health, public health, ache, chronic painAbstract
Objective: to review studies on the prevalence and factors related to pain in Brazilian university students.
Methods: systematic review with PROSPERO record (CRD42020204197), of articles published in national and international journals, in PUBMED, EBSCO, LILACS, MEDLINE, VHL Portal, Google Scholar and SciELO. Descriptors: “Pain”, “Chronic Pain”, Students “,” Students, Health Occupations “and” Universities “. Included: a) Observational studies; b) transversal; c) published in national or international journals; d) written in English or Portuguese; e) developed with academics, in Brazilian higher education institutions; f) who have assessed the prevalence and factors related to pain; g) Such studies should be available in full. There were no restrictions on the period of publication of the studies. Excluded: h) studies that did not report the methodology applied to measure the outcome; i) studies with instruments that did not evaluate pain as a primary outcome, subsequently presenting insufficient data to analyze the results; j) studies with academics from other countries and k) studies with inconsistent data related to the sample and its main results. The risk of bias was assessed using the Downs and Black scale and proposed by Hoy.
Results: searches identified 67 articles, however, after analysis 10 were included. These were cross-sectional studies, published between 2011 and 2019, 5 of them from the Northeast region. The sample totaled 3,268 students, 68% of whom were women. The prevalence of pain varied between 14.4% and 98% and chronic pain between 11.5% and 59.7%. The highest perception of self-reported pain was 4.12 ± 2.15. The main pain complaints were in the lower back and upper limbs. In the methodological analysis, studies have a moderate to high risk of bias.
Conclusions: finally, the evidence indicates a high prevalence of pain, as well as its chronicity in university students. However, studies with adequate methodological rigor are still needed to confirm the results presented.
Downloads
References
Raja SN, Carr DB, Cohen M, Finnerup NB, Flor H, Gibson S, et al. The revised International Association for the Study of Pain definition of pain : concepts, challenges, and compromises. Pain. 2020;00(00):1-7. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001939
Aziz Q, Barke A, Bennett MI, Benoliel R, Cohen M, Evers S, et al. A classification of chronic pain for ICD-11. Pain. 2015;156(6):1003-7. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000160
Silva CD, Ferraz GC, Souza LAF, Cruz LVS, Stival MM, Pereira LV. Prevalence of chronic pain in nursing undergraduate students. Texto e Context Enferm. 2011;20(3):319-25. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-07072011000300013
Mills SEE, Nicolson KP, Smith BH. Chronic pain: a review of its epidemiology and associated factors in population-based studies. Br J Anaesth. 2019;123(2):e273-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2019.03.023
Vos T, Abajobir AA, Abbafati C, Abbas KM, Abate KH, Abd-Allah F, et al. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 328 diseases and injuries for 195 countries, 1990-2016: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet. 2017;390:1211-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32154-2
Goldberg DS, McGee SJ. Pain as a global public health priority. BMC Public Health. 2011;11(1):770.
Vasconcelos FH, Araújo GC de. Prevalence of chronic pain in Brazil: a descriptive study. Brazilian J Pain. 2018;1(2):176-9. https://doi.org/10.5935/2595-0118.20180034
Carvalho RC de, Maglioni CB, Machado GB, Araújo JE de, Silva JRT da, Silva ML da. Prevalence and characteristics of chronic pain in Brazil: a national internet-based survey study. Brazilian J Pain. 2018;1(4):331-8. https://doi.org/10.5935/2595-0118.20180063
Torrance N, Elliott AM, Lee AJ, Smith BH. Severe chronic pain is associated with increased 10 year mortality. A cohort record linkage study. Eur J Pain. 2010;14(4):380-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpain.2009.07.006
Fayaz A, Ayis S, Panesar SS, Langford RM, Donaldson LJ. Assessing the relationship between chronic pain and cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Pain. 2016;13:76-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjpain.2016.06.005
Jank R, Gallee A, Boeckle M, Fiegl S, Pieh C. Chronic Pain and Sleep Disorders in Primary Care. Pain Res Treat. 2017;34-7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/9081802
Parker R, Bergman E, Mntambo A, Stubbs S, Wills M. Levels of physical activity in people with chronic pain. South African J Physiother. 2017;73(1):1-7. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajp.v73i1.323
Silva AL e, Smaidi K, Pires MHR, Pires OC. Prevalence of chronic pain and associated factors among medical students. Rev Dor. 2017;18(2):108-11. https://doi.org/10.5935/1806-0013.20170022
Morais ML, Silva VKO, Silva JMN da. Prevalence of low back pain and associated factors among physiotherapy students. Brazilian J Pain. 2018;1(3):241-7. https://doi.org/10.5935/2595-0118.20180047
Hoy D, Brooks P, Woolf A, Blyth F, March L, Bain C, et al. Assessing risk of bias in prevalence studies: Modification of an existing tool and evidence of interrater agreement. J Clin Epidemiol. 2012;65(9):934-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2011.11.014
Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Ciência, Tecnologia e Insumos Estratégicos. Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia. Diretrizes metodológicas: elaboração de revisão sistemática e metanálise de estudos observacionais comparativos sobre fatores de risco e prognóstico/ Ministério da Saúde, Secretaria de Ciência, Tecnologia e Insumos Estratégicos, Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde; 2014.
Neto MG, Andrade DLB. Frequência de dor lombar em acadêmicos do curso de fisioterapia. Ter Man. 2011; 9(44):398-403.
Falavigna A, Teles AR, Mazzocchin T, De Braga GL, Kleber FD, Barreto F, et al. Increased prevalence of low back pain among physiotherapy students compared to medical students. Eur Spine J. 2011;20(3):500-5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-010-1646-9
Paixão MS, Tassitano RM, Siqueira GR. Prevalência de desconforto osteomuscular e fatores associados em estudantes universitários. Rev Bras Promoç Saúde. 2013; 26(2): 242-250.
Neto MG, Sampaio GS, Santos PS. Frequência E Fatores Associados a Dores Musculoesqueléticas Em Estudantes Universitários. Rev Pesqui em Fisioter. 2016;6(1):23-34. https://doi.org/2238-2704rpf.v6i1.790
Alfieri FM, Oliveira NC, Santana IEFC, Ferreira KMP, Pedro RDM. Prevalência de dor lombar em universitários da saúde e sua relação com estilo de vida e nível de atividade física. Rev Inspirar Movimento e Saúde. 2016;11(4):27-31.
Sousa PO, Leal SS, Carvalho MEIM. Lombalgia, hábitos posturais e comportamentais em acadêmicos de Fisioterapia e Psicologia de uma instituição de ensino superior. Fisioterapia Brasil. 2017;18(5):563-570. https://doi.org/10.33233/fb.v18i5.1551
Morais BX, Dalmolin G de L, Andolhe R, Dullius AI dos S, Rocha LP. Dor musculoesquelética em estudantes de graduação da área da saúde: prevalência e fatores associados. Rev da Esc Enferm da usp. 2019;53:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1980-220x2018014403444
Malfliet A, Coppieters I, Van Wilgen P, Kregel J, De Pauw R, Dolphens M, et al. Brain changes associated with cognitive and emotional factors in chronic pain: A systematic review. Eur J Pain (United Kingdom). 2017;21(5):769-86. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.1003
Li JL, Yan CQ, Wang X, Zhang S, Zhang N, Hu SQ, et al. Brain functional alternations of the pain-related emotional and cognitive regions in patients with chronic shoulder pain. J Pain Res. 2020;13:575-83. https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S220370
Hanna F, Daas RN, El-Shareif TJ, Al-Marridi HH, Al-Rojoub ZM, Adegboye OA. The relationship between sedentary behavior, back pain, and psychosocial correlates among university employees. Front Public Heal. 2019;7:1-7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00080
Ribeiro SBF, Carlos J, Pinto P, Ribeiro JB, Felix MMS, Barroso SM, et al. Dor nas Unidades de Internação de um Hospital Universitário. Rev Bras Anestesiol. 2012;62(5):605-11.
Lieberman G, Shpaner M, Watts R, Andrews T, Filippi CG, Davis M, et al. White matter involvement in chronic musculoskeletal pain. J Pain [Online]. 2014;15(11):1110-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2014.08.002
Apkarian AV, Bushnell MC, Treede RD, Zubieta JK. Human brain mechanisms of pain perception and regulation in health and disease. Eur J Pain. 2005;9(4):463 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpain.2004.11.001
Wiech K, Tracey I. The influence of negative emotions on pain: Behavioral effects and neural mechanisms. Neuroimage. 2009;47(3):987–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.05.059
Hurley RW, Adams MC. Sex, gender, and pain: an overview of a complex field. Anesth Analg. 2008;107(1):309-17. https://doi.org/10.1213/01.ane.0b013e31816ba437
Racine M, Tousignant-Laflamme Y, Kloda LA, Dion D, Dupuis G, Choinière M. A systematic literature review of 10 years of research on sex/gender and pain perception - part 2: do biopsychosocial factors alter pain sensitivity differently in women and men? Pain. 2012;153(3):619-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2011.11.026
Defrin R, Eli I, Pud D. Interactions among sex, ethnicity, religion, and gender role expectations of pain. Gend Med. 2011;8(3):172-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genm.2011.04.001
Nascimento MG, Kosminsky M, Chi M. Gender role in pain perception and expression: an integrative review. Brazilian J Pain. 2020;3(1):58-62. https://doi.org/10.5935/2595-0118.20200013
Bromley Milton M, Börsbo B, Rovner G, Lundgren-Nilsson Å, Stibrant-Sunnerhagen K, Gerdle B. Is Pain Intensity Really That Important to Assess in Chronic Pain Patients? A Study Based on the Swedish Quality Registry for Pain Rehabilitation (SQRP). PLoS One. 2013;8(6):1-13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065483
Bushnell MC, Čeko M, Low LA. Cognitive and emotional control of pain and its disruption in chronic pain. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2013;14(7):502-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3516
Sribastav SS, Peiheng H, Jun L, Zemin L, Fuxin W, Jianru W, et al. Interplay among pain intensity, sleep disturbance and emotion in patients with non-specific low back pain. PeerJ. 2017;5:e3282. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3282
Dorner TE, Stein KV, Hahne J, Wepner F, Friedrich M, Mittendorfer-Rutz E. How are socio-demographic and psycho-social factors associated with the prevalence and chronicity of severe pain in 14 different body sites? A cross-sectional population-based survey. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2018;130(1-2):14-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-017-1223-x
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Scientia Medica
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright
The submission of originals to Scientia Medica implies the transfer by the authors of the right for publication. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. If the authors wish to include the same data into another publication, they must cite Scientia Medica as the site of original publication.
Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise specified, material published in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, which allows unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is correctly cited.
