Adverse events in childhood and chronic widespread pain in adult life: Results from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Study

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Abstract
Dy, the aim of the current study was to examine, prospectively, the relationship between childhood physical and psychological adversity and CWP in adulthood. At 7 yrs data were collected, by parental report, on physically traumatic events (hospitalisation following a road traffic accident, or for surgery); and factors indicating poor social and psychological environment (periods in local authority care, death of a parent; or parental divorce, alcoholism, or financial hardship). CWP was assessed at 45 yrs using self-completion questionnaires. The relationship between childhood events and CWP was examined using Poisson regression. 7571 individuals provided pain data at 45 yrs (71.5%). There was no association between childhood surgery and CWP in adulthood (relative risk: 1.0; 95%CI: 0.9–1.1). However, children who had been hospitalised following a road traffic accident experienced a significant increase in the risk of future CWP (1.5; 1.05–2.1). Children who had resided in institutional care also experienced an increase in the risk of CWP (1.7; 1.3–2.4) as did those who experienced maternal death (2.0; 1.08–3.7) and familial financial hardship (1.6; 1.3–1.9). Further these associations were not explained by adult psychological distress or social class. To prevent long-term consequences of adverse childhood events, future research should study the mechanisms, in particular the biological mechanisms, underlying these relationships....