Teens with dysmenorrhea prone to chronic pain as adults

Dysmenorrhoea in adolescence appears to contribute to an increased risk of chronic pain in adulthood, according to a study.

Researchers used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and identified 1,157 children for study inclusion. Dysmenorrhea was assessed annually from age 8 to 17 years. At age 15, the participants were asked to rate their dysmenorrhea as mild, moderate, or severe.

Chronic pain (≥3 months in duration), the primary outcome, was evaluated at age 26 years using the following questions: “Have you had any aches or pains that have lasted for a day or longer in the past month?” (yes or no), and “When did the pain start?” (<3 months ago or ≥3 months ago).

A total of 691 participants (59.7 percent) reported having moderate or severe dysmenorrhoea at age 15 years. Of the 307 participants (26.5 percent) who reported chronic pain at age 26 years, 32 (17.3 percent) had no dysmenorrhoea at age 15, whereas 62 (22.1 percent) had mild, 157 (30 percent) had moderate, and 56 (33.5 percent) had severe dysmenorrhoea.

Compared with no dysmenorrhea, moderate and severe dysmenorrhea at age 15 were associated with an increased risk of any chronic pain at age 26 years. The risk ratios were 1.65 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.22–2.18; p=0.0021) and 1.76 (95 percent CI, 1.23–2.39; p=0.0030), respectively, which corresponded to an absolute adjusted risk difference of 12.7 and 16.2 percentage points.

Anxiety and depressive symptoms mediated a small proportion of the association between severe dysmenorrhoea and chronic pain. The mediating effect of anxiety and depressive symptoms was most pronounced among participants with severe dysmenorrhoea at age 15.