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Background: Pain all over the body is a key component of chronic widespread pain (CWP), a common condition which often results in high levels of disability. Underlying mechanisms are complex and may involve neural systems, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and psychological indices. Although there is some evidence that CWP may follow a traumatic event, there are scant data relating to the occurrence of CWP following a history of a bone fracture. Whilst the case definition of CWP requires use of pain mannequins, which may not be feasible in a large population cohort, the presence of chronic pain all over the body, readily obtainable by self-report, affords a practical surrogate marker. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the association between presence of pain all over the body and previous fracture in a large population-based cohort, UK Biobank.

Methods: UK Biobank is a large …