Aim: Pain is a common experience of children,
young persons and adults. There is
currently only limited information about
the prevalence of pain in apprentices in Germany.
Objective of the present epidemiological
study was to investigate the prevalence
of pain amongst German trainees aged 15 to
25 years.
Methods: A modified version of the Lübeck
pain-screening questionnaire was submitted
to 7158 apprentices aged 15–25 years.
The trainees replied to the questionnaire
themselves during lessons at their technical
college. The study was performed in six
technical colleges in Lübeck, Germany. 6175
questionnaires were returned (response rate:
86.3 %). 5813 of 6175 questionnaires (94.1 %)
could be included in the evaluation process.
Results: The three-month pain prevalence
was 90.6 %. 72.4 % of the apprentices reported
headaches, 59.9 % back pain, 37.7 %
sore throat, 36.8 % abdominal pain and 35.1 %
pain in the arms or legs during the previous
3 months. 48.6 % of trainees reported that
they had suffered from their dominant pain
for more than 12 months.
Conclusions: The results of this epidemiological
study show that complaints of pain are
common in apprentices and that pain persists
for longer than 12 months in almost half
of the apprentices. Thus young members of
the German workforce show patterns of pain
that are typical for adults. Further studies are
needed to investigate the characteristics of
the development of a chronic pain condition
in apprentices.
