Disentangling the Sleep-Pain Relationship in Pediatric Chronic Pain: The Mediating Role of Internalizing Mental Health Symptoms

Background Pediatric chronic pain often emerges in adolescence and cooccurs with internalizing mental health issues and sleep impairments. Emerging evidence suggests that sleep problems may precede the onset of chronic pain as well as anxiety and depression. Studies conducted in pediatric populations with pain-related chronic illnesses suggest that internalizing mental health symptoms may mediate the sleep-pain relationship; however, this has not been examined in youth with primary pain disorders. Objective To examine whether anxiety and depressive symptoms mediated relationships between sleep quality and pain outcomes among youth with chronic pain. Methods Participants included 147 youth (66.7% female) aged 8-18 years who were referred to a tertiary-level chronic pain program. At intake, the youth completed psychometrically sound measures of sleep quality, pain intensity, pain interference, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results As hypothesized, poor sleep quality was associated with increased pain intensity and pain interference, and anxiety and depressive symptoms mediated these sleep-pain relationships. Discussion For youth with chronic pain, poor sleep quality may worsen pain through alterations in mood and anxiety; however, prospective research using objective measures is needed. Future research should examine whether targeting sleep and internalizing mental health symptoms in treatments improve pain outcomes in these youth.