Prevalence of chronic pain in adolescents of Qazvin and the associated impact on daily living

¯Abstract Background: Pain among adolescents and children has been identified as an important public health problem. Chronic pain in adolescents leads to disability in physical activity, anxiety, sleep disturbance, school absence, and social withdrawal. Objective: This study was to investigate the prevalence and impact of chronic pain on daily living and activities of adolescents. Methods: This was a descriptive analytical study designed to determine prevalence of pain in 200 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years through random cluster sampling among the population of Qazvin. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS. Findings: The most common types of pain in adolescents were headache (36%), abdominal pain (21%), and eye pain (21.5%). Prevalence of chronic pain increased with age and was significantly higher in girls (p<0/001). The self-reported trigger for pain was: anger/disputes (58.1%), sadness (52.8%), and common cold or illness (44.4%). Conclusions: Our results highlight the relevance of adolescent pain for public health policy. To enhance our knowledge about adolescent pain and encouraging parents, teachers, and health care professionals to assist young people and adolescents with pain management, additional studies are suggested.