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 "We found a high frequency of pain medication use among both
non-bullied and bullied students," said lead study author Pernilla
Garmy of Kristianstad University in Sweden.
"However, the use of analgesics was significantly higher among
bullied students even when controlling for pain, age, gender and
socioeconomic status," Garmy said by email. "Bullied students tended
to experience more pain than the non-bullied students, and bullied
students were twice as likely to use pain medication even when
controlling for experienced pain."
While bullying has long been linked to an increased risk of
suffering from chronic pain and a variety of physical and mental
health complaints, research to date hasn't offered a clear picture
of how bullying influences painkiller use, the researchers note in
Acta Paediatrica.
For the current study, Garmy's team examined data on 10,626 youth 11
to 15 years old, including 585 children and teens who reported being
bullied at least two or three times a month.
Youth who reported chronic pain were more than seven times as likely
as those who didn't experience pain on a weekly basis to take
painkillers, the study found.
Compared with students who didn't experience regular bullying, those
who did were more likely to take pain relievers for headaches and
for pain in the stomach, back, neck and shoulders.
Headaches and stomach pain were the most common reasons for
painkiller use.
About 46 percent of kids who were bullied took painkillers for
headaches, as did 30 percent of children who weren't bullied.
And, 31 percent of youth who were bullied took pain relievers for
stomach discomfort, as did 14 percent of kids who weren't bullied.
Most often, young people took paracetamol (acetaminophen) or
ibuprofen to ease their pain.
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"My hypothesis of the link between bullying and painkiller use could
be that if you are feeling satisfied and safe, and then get a
headache, you might cope with the pain without medication," Garmy
said. "But if you are feeling sad and unsecure - a common experience
by bullied children and adolescents - the pain might be overwhelming
and there is a need for use of analgesics."
The study wasn't designed to prove whether or how bullying might
cause or amplify pain, or lead victims to take medication.
"It's impossible to know, based on this study alone, whether
bullying led to more health problems and subsequent pain medication
use or (if) youth with more health problems experience more
bullying," said Valerie Earnshaw, a researcher in human development
and family sciences at the University of Delaware in Newark.
"But, this study's findings are consistent with other studies
showing that youth who experience bullying report greater
psychosomatic health complaints, such as headaches, stomachaches,
and pain, later on," Earnshaw, who wasn't involved in the study,
said by email.
Still, the results should serve as a reminder to parents about the
importance of asking children about their school experiences,
including whether children have been bullied, Earnshaw said.
"This is especially the case if children are showing signs that they
are experiencing mental or physical health problems," Earnshaw
advised. "If parents suspect that their children are experiencing
bullying, they should reach out to their children's school for help
with addressing the behavior . . . and reach out to their children's
pediatricians."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2LP3Jll Acta Paediatrica, online May 9, 2019.
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