Heightened Temporal Summation of Pain in Patients with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders and History of Trauma

Abstract

Background: Individuals with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) report experiencing trauma more often than healthy controls, but little is known regarding psychophysical correlates. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that adolescents and young adults with FGIDs since childhood and a trauma history (n = 38) would exhibit heightened temporal summation to thermal pain stimuli, an index of central sensitization, and greater clinical symptoms compared to patients with FGIDs and no trauma history (n = 95) and healthy controls (n = 135). Methods: Participants completed self-report measures, an experimental pain protocol, and psychiatric diagnostic interview as part of a larger longitudinal study. Results: FGID + Trauma patients exhibited greater temporal summation than FGID + No Trauma patients and healthy controls. Additionally, FGID + Trauma patients exhibited greater gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal symptom severity, number of chronic pain sites, and disability. Conclusions: Assessing for trauma history in patients with FGIDs could identify a subset at risk for greater central sensitization and pain-related symptoms.