Pain severity and pain catastrophizing predict functional disability in youth with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND Abdominal pain is commonly reported by youth with IBD. In a significant subset of youth, pain severity and pain catastrophizing (i.e., unhelpful thoughts related to the pain) may contribute to more negative outcomes and greater impairment in functioning. This study aimed to examine relationships of pain severity and pain catastrophizing with functional disability among a sample of youth with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS Seventy-five youth aged 11 to 18 years completed ratings of abdominal pain severity, pain catastrophizing, and functional disability using validated measures. Disease activity was rated by treating physicians. RESULTS Over half of participants reported abdominal pain in the past two weeks, and pain was present among those with and without clinical disease activity. Nearly one-third of youth reported mild to moderate functional disability. After controlling for gender, pain severity accounted for 15% of the variance in patient functional disability. Moreover, pain catastrophizing contributed significant variance to the prediction of functional disability (approximately 7%) beyond the role of pain severity. CONCLUSIONS Greater attention to the role of pain catastrophizing in contributing to functional disability in youth with IBD may be important given that pain-related cognitions are modifiable via intervention.