Risk Factors for Growth Pain Disorder in Children: A Systematic Review

Ting Luo's systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes evidence from 37 clinical studies involving 16,086 participants to identify risk factors for growth pain disorder in children. The study, registered as PROSPERO CRD420251150931, was published on figshare in May 2026. It reports on 17 potential risk factors, including serum vitamin D levels, bone density, hypermobility, and psychosocial status.

Use Cases

• Identify biological risk markers for growth pain based on reported serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and bone density.
• Analyze the association between physical activity/hypermobility and pediatric pain incidence based on reported odds ratios.
• Investigate psychosocial and genetic factors in pediatric pain disorders based on descriptions in the results.
• Guide clinical diagnosis and intervention strategies based on the evidence-based conclusions of the review.

Strengths

• Aggregates findings from 37 studies with a total participant pool of 16,086 children.
• Reports specific statistical measures for key factors, such as a standardized mean difference (SMD) of -2.75 for serum vitamin D.
• Provides a clear systematic review methodology, including database searches and independent screening by two researchers.

Limitations

• The underlying data is a 30.7 KB DOCX document summarizing results; the raw study data is not provided.
• The authors note heterogeneity and sample size limitations in the included studies, advising cautious interpretation.
• Evidence for some factors like perinatal factors, breastfeeding, and picky eating is reported as limited.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies from seven electronic databases.

Time Range

Studies searched from database inception to October 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-18 05:31:20.