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

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.