Chronic Pain And Health-Related Quality Of Life In Women With Autism And/Or ADHD: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Karin Asztély,1 Svenny Kopp,2 Christopher Gillberg,2 Margda Waern,3 Stefan Bergman1 1Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy Institute of Medicine, Göteborg, Sweden; 2Gillberg Neuropsychiatric Centre, Sahlgrenska Academy Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Göteborg, Sweden; 3Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Sahlgrenska Academy Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Göteborg, SwedenCorrespondence: Karin AsztélyDepartment of Public Health and Community Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy Institute of Medicine, Box 454, Göteborg S-405 30, SwedenTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected]: To investigate the prevalence of chronic pain and its association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a group of women, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) in childhood.Patients and methods: Prospective longitudinal 16–19 years follow-up study of 100 Swedish females diagnosed with ASD and/or ADHD in childhood/adolescence. Seventy-seven of the women were included in the current sub-study, using validated measures of pain perception and quality of life.Results: A large majority of the women (76.6%) reported chronic pain. HRQoL was low overall and lower still for those reporting chronic pain. Women with ADHD who had ongoing treatment with stimulants reported a significant lower prevalence of chronic widespread pain (CWP) than those not treated.Conclusion: Comorbidity with chronic pain is common in women with ASD and/or ADHD and important to address in the clinic since it is associated with an already low HRQoL. Treatment for ADHD might reduce the pain in some cases.Keywords: female, girls, attention deficit disorder, autism spectrum disorder, widespread pain, stimulants

Keywords

• Female
• Girls
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Widespread Pain
• Stimulants