Search

Jannike Kaasbøll,1,2 Stian Lydersen,2 Ingunn Ranøyen,2,3 Wendy Nilsen,4 Marit S Indredavik2,3 1Department of Health Research, SINTEF, Trondheim, Norway; 2Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare (RKBU Central Norway), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; 3Department of Children and Youth, Division of Mental Health Care, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway; 4The Work Research Institute, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway Background: A growing body of research suggests that the children of parents with chronic pain are at risk for internalizing symptoms. The mechanisms of such associations have not been as thoroughly examined. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether adolescents’ social competence mediates the association between parental chronic pain and offspring internalizing symptoms as well as whether these associations are moderated by adolescent gender. Methods: The current study was based on cross-sectional data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT 3), a Norwegian population-based health survey conducted in 2006–2008. The present sample comprised adolescents who had both parents participating (n=9,681). Structural equation modeling was used for the data analysis. Results: Our results indicated that the association between concurrent maternal and paternal chronic pain and offspring’s symptoms of anxiety and depression was partly mediated by low social competence for girls (b(SE)=0.060 [0.030], P=0.043) but not for boys (b(SE)=−0.059 [0.040], P=0.146). This suggests that these associations are moderated by offspring gender. Conclusion: The study extends the existing literature on the possible pathways between parental chronic pain and internalizing symptoms in the offspring. Identifying protective factors in the pathways between parental chronic pain and mental distress in children could guide measures that promote the wellbeing of the child and family of chronic pain sufferers. Keywords: chronic pain, adolescents, social competence, anxiety, depression, sex differences

Knut A Hestad,1–3 Siri Weider,3,4 Kristian Bernhard Nilsen,5–7 Marit Sæbø Indredavik,8,9 Trond Sand7,10 1Department of Research, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Brumunddal, Norway; 2Department of Public Health, Hedmark University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway; 3Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; 4Department of Psychiatry, Specialised Unit for Eating Disorder Patients, Levanger Hospital, Health Trust Nord-Trøndelag, Levanger, Norway; 5Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; 6Department of Work Psychology and Physiology, National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo, Norway; 7Department of Neurology, Section for Clinical Neurophysiology, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Oslo, Norway; 8Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; 9Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, StOlavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway; 10Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway Objective: To conduct a blind study of quantitative electroencephalogram-band amplitudes in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and healthy controls.Methods: Twenty-one patients with AN and 24 controls were examined with eyes-closed 16-channel electroencephalogram. Main variables were absolute alpha, theta, and delta amplitudes in frontal, temporal, and posterior regions.Results: There were no significant differences between the AN patients and controls regarding absolute regional band amplitudes in µV. Borderline significance was found for anterior theta (P=0.051). Significantly increased left and right frontal electrode theta amplitude was found in AN patients (F3, P=0.014; F4, P=0.038) compared to controls. Significant differences were also observed for secondary variables: lower values for relative parietooccipital delta and frontocentral alpha activity among AN patients than among controls.Conclusion: We observed slight excess frontal theta and lower relative alpha and delta amplitudes among AN patients than among controls. This pattern is possibly related to a slight frontal lobe dysfunction in AN, or it may reflect increased attention/vigilance or another state-related change in patients with AN compared to healthy controls. Keywords: anorexia, EEG, frontal theta, alpha, delta, eating disorders