Pleysier Sophie, Ickmans Kelly, Malfliet Anneleen, Wauters Aline, van der Werff Ten Bossch Jutte, Debulpaep Sara, Vanacker Amelien, Vervoort Tine, Savieri Perseverence, Rheel Emma
Pain in Motion Research Group (PAIN), Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education & Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.
Department of Physical Medicine and Physiotherapy, University Hospital Brussels, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.
Children (Basel). 2025 Sep 1;12(9):1166. doi: 10.3390/children12091166.
Children with cancer frequently experience pain, which may persist into survivorship. Furthermore, many undergo body composition changes throughout their disease trajectory. However, little is still known about the interplay between pain and body composition. This cross-sectional case-control study compared pain and anthropometric characteristics between 30 children with cancer (8-18 years) and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls and examined whether pain was associated with anthropometric characteristics and cancer diagnosis. Pain in the past two weeks, chronic pain, and pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) at the tibialis anterior and trapezius pars descendens muscles were assessed. Anthropometric measures included waist circumference, fat %, fat-free mass, muscle mass, body water %, and Body Mass Index. : Children with cancer had a higher prevalence of chronic pain ( = 0.011), lower PPTs at the tibialis anterior ( = 0.030), and fewer pain locations ( = 0.037). They also showed lower body water % ( = 0.020), and higher waist circumference ( = 0.012) and fat % ( = 0.026). Cancer diagnosis and lower muscle mass were associated with lower PPTs at both locations (tibialis anterior: = 0.016, β = -0.305; = 0.033, β = 0.267; trapezius pars descendens: = 0.020, β = -0.286; = 0.004, β = 0.361, respectively). Children with cancer differ from their healthy peers in both pain and body composition profiles. These findings underscore the need for systematic pain assessment and body composition monitoring in pediatric oncology and may help identify children at risk for heightened pain sensitivity and adverse body composition changes who could benefit from early, targeted interventions.
患癌儿童经常经历疼痛，这种疼痛可能会持续到存活期。此外，许多儿童在整个疾病进程中身体成分都会发生变化。然而，关于疼痛与身体成分之间的相互作用仍知之甚少。这项横断面病例对照研究比较了30名患癌儿童（8至18岁）与30名年龄和性别匹配的健康对照者之间的疼痛情况和人体测量特征，并研究了疼痛是否与人体测量特征及癌症诊断相关。评估了过去两周的疼痛、慢性疼痛以及胫骨前肌和斜方肌下束肌肉的压痛阈值（PPTs）。人体测量指标包括腰围、脂肪百分比、去脂体重、肌肉量、身体水分百分比和体重指数。患癌儿童慢性疼痛的患病率更高（P = 0.011），胫骨前肌的PPTs更低（P = 0.030），疼痛部位更少（P = 0.037）。他们还表现出更低的身体水分百分比（P = 0.020），以及更高的腰围（P = 0.012）和脂肪百分比（P = 0.026）。癌症诊断和较低的肌肉量与两个部位的较低PPTs相关（胫骨前肌：P = 0.016，β = -0.305；P = 0.033，β = 0.267；斜方肌下束：P = 0.020，β = -0.286；P = 0.004，β = 0.361）。患癌儿童在疼痛和身体成分方面与健康同龄人不同。这些发现强调了在儿科肿瘤学中进行系统疼痛评估和身体成分监测的必要性，可能有助于识别那些疼痛敏感性增加和身体成分发生不良变化风险较高的儿童，他们可能会从早期针对性干预中受益。
