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How common is pain in Indian school going children? A phase 1 pilot study

Background: There is a lack of information about the prevalence of pain among school going Indian children, and therefore, this study was conducted. A cross-sectional population survey was conducted in school children from Grades III to VI. The objective was to determine the prevalence of pain, including chronic pain. The secondary objectives were to find a correlation between chronic pain with age, gender, parental history of chronic pain and past surgical history along with the various characteristics of chronic pain. Method: Seven hundred questionnaires were distributed in schools from Grades III to VI. They were answered at home by the children along with their parents. The data thus obtained were analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. The level of significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: The overall prevalence of non-chronic pain was found to be 37.6% (95% confidence interval being 34.0-41.2%). The prevalence of chronic pain was 3.90% (95% confidence interval being 2.86-4.94%). There was no statistically relevant correlation between gender, age, family history of chronic pain, or past surgical history with chronic pain. Conclusion: Our study suggests that prevalence of pain in Indian school going children is common, although the prevalence of chronic pain is far less than that estimated world-wide.