Pain in idiopathic scoliosis not associated with known genetic variants for pain.

INTRODUCTION

Back pain is common in idiopathic scoliosis. The aim of this study was to study known genetic variants associated with pain in individuals with idiopathic scoliosis.

METHODS

We included 1442 individuals with juvenile or adolescent idiopathic scoliosis from Sweden and Denmark. Single nucleotide variants (SNV) genotyping was performed on 37 SNVs. Pain was assessed using 2 questionnaires. The mean pain domain score on the Scoliosis Research Society 22 revised questionnaire (SRS-22r) ranging between 1 (worst) and 5 (best) was dichotomized into a "back pain group" (score <4) and a "no back pain group" (score ≥4). The EuroQol 5-dimensions (EQ-5D) 3 level pain domain was dichotomized into a "no pain group" and a "pain group." Odds ratios were used to describe the associations.

RESULTS

Based on the SRS-22r pain domain scores, 456 individuals (32%) reported back pain. Based on the EQ-5D questionnaire, 813 individuals (56%) reported moderate or extreme pain/discomfort. The odds ratio for the associations between the selected genetic variants and back pain or pain in general as measured with SRS-22r and EQ-5D-3L ranged between 0.88 to 1.17 and 0.86 to 1.16, with -values ranging between 0.08 to 0.99 and 0.08 to 0.95.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that known genetic variants associated with pain do not play a significant role in the development of pain in individuals with idiopathic scoliosis.