The effects of autistic traits in adolescents on the efficacy of paediatric Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment (IIPT)

Moore, David; Jordan, Abbie; Wainwright, Elaine; Failla, Michelle; Connell, Hannah; Gauntlett-Gilbert, Jeremy

doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104757

The effects of autistic traits in adolescents on the efficacy of paediatric Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment (IIPT)

Moore, David; Jordan, Abbie; Wainwright, Elaine; Failla, Michelle; Connell, Hannah; Gauntlett-Gilbert, Jeremy

Authors

David Moore

Abbie Jordan

Elaine Wainwright

Michelle Failla

Hannah Connell

Jeremy Gauntlett-Gilbert

Abstract

Autistic adolescents are at greater risk of chronic pain, but it is unclear how autistic features may relate to individual aspects of chronic pain. As autism traits exist in the general population as well, it is important to know if autistic traits could impact how effective chronic pain management is for adolescents. Here we examined autistic traits in 112 patients (12-18yrs) recruited from a UK national specialist adolescent pain rehabilitation programme. Participants completed screening questionnaires for autistic traits upon entry to the programme, as well as clinically recognised pain measures before and after the 3-week treatment program. Autistic traits predicted greater psychological challenges at treatment onset. Critically, autistic traits were not related to the magnitude of improvement in pain measures during the pain management program. Our study suggests that adolescents with greater autistic traits may benefit from existing pain rehabilitation programs at similar rates to their peers. Additionally, these data suggest no reason for therapeutic pessimism for autistic pain patients. We do however acknowledge that these data may differ in populations with an autistic diagnosis, and that barriers may still exist for autistic people in treatment for pain.

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Dec 7, 2024
Online Publication Date	Dec 13, 2024
Publication Date	Feb 28, 2025
Deposit Date	Dec 10, 2024
Publicly Available Date	Mar 7, 2025
Journal	The journal of pain
Print ISSN	1526-5900
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	27
Article Number	104757
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104757
Keywords	Chronic Pain, Pain Management, Autism, Autistic, Pain
Public URL	https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13521141