Study Suggests Potential Parent–Child Link in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

This is for our pain providers.

Published in BMC Public Health (2014;14:797).

Children with parents who have chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) are at a higher risk for developing CMP, a new family-linkage study finds.

According to researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, CMP is “among the leading causes of reduced quality of life and disability in Western countries,” but there is little known about the parent–offspring association of CMP. They analyzed data from the Norwegian HUNT (Nord-Trøndelag Health) study, a population-based health survey that collected self-reported questionnaires and other information from people aged 20 years or older during 1984-1986, 1995-1997 and 2006-2008, to determine whether CMP is heritable and whether age or sex affects the association.

Using data from 11,248 parent–offspring trios (i.e., father, mother and child), the researchers found that “maternal and paternal CMP was associated with 20% to 40% increased odds of CMP in sons and daughters.” The strongest parent–offspring association was seen when both parents had CMP (odds ratio, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-1.9). The age and sex of parents and offspring did not modify this association, the study found.

The researchers noted that not all the cases in the study were clinically relevant, and the data available did not allow them to test for genetic and environmental factors for CMP. Some researchers have shown that the development of CMP depends both on genetics as well as an individual’s social environment, so some parent–offspring associations may become stronger as the child gets older (Am J Clin Nutr 2010, 92:946-953; J Health Soc Behav 1990, 31:240-259).