One in two young people seeking mental health support also suffer from pain, a new study from Orygen has revealed, with researchers arguing a better understanding and recognition of pain in youth mental health could hold the key to improved treatment outcomes.
The research, published today in Psychological Medicine, analysed data from over 1,100 young people (aged 12 to 25) who attended five headspace centres across Australia, and found one in six reported experiencing serious pain more than three days per week, while one in two reported at least moderate pain.
Lead author and Research Fellow at Orygen, Dr Scott Tagliaferri, said the co-occurrence of pain and mental ill-health in young people was an under-researched area, but the new research highlighted just how important the interaction between the two could be, and how much young people are impacted.
“We often associate pain – and particularly chronic pain – with older people, so what was surprising in this research was just how common pain was amongst younger people,” Dr Tagliaferri said.
“A lot of young people find that their pain is dismissed, or the adults in their lives don't believe them when they report chronic pain, which can often exacerbate poor mental health.
“Pain has a significant influence on young people with mental ill-health, so it's really important that mental health services screen for pain and develop integrated pain services.”
One in five young people are estimated to experience chronic pain (which is pain that recurs or persists for a period of three or more months) at any one time, and the most common forms of chronic pain are:
- headache
- musculoskeletal pain
- abdominal and pelvic pain
- multisite pain
Dr Tagliaferri said that chronic pain in young people impacts daily functioning and quality of life – but that pain is still seen as something that occurs later in life.
“Pain is really under-recognised when it comes to young people, with very few dedicated services available to help them - and while more pain clinics are available to adults, these services often don't suit younger people's needs,” Dr Tagliaferri said.
“Concerningly, we know young people experiencing pain have worse clinical outcomes when it comes to their mental health, and higher levels of pain are associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation.”
The research suggests that treating mental health conditions without considering co-occurring pain could be limiting the effectiveness of these treatments.
“Now we know just how prevalent pain is amongst young people, it's vital we tailor mental health supports to consider the toll this pain could be taking,” Dr Tagliaferri said.
“Pain is often invisible – although we can’t always see it, pain is there for young people and it can stop them from doing things they want to do, and cause them psychological distress, particularly if others don’t acknowledge they’re suffering.”
“We need to bring pain out of the shadows if we want to effectively tackle mental ill-health in young people.”