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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.

Contact Information:

Dr Dhaneesha Senaratne
+44 (0)1382385374
dsenaratne002@dundee.ac.uk


Prof Lesley Colvin
None provided
l.a.colvin@dundee.ac.uk


More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.

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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - The impact of adverse childhood experiences on sensation and pain in people living with multiple long-term health conditions and chronic pain
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The impact of adverse childhood experiences on sensation and pain in people living with multiple long-term health conditions and chronic pain

Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Adult

Dundee

Medical Conditions

Multimorbidity and chronic pain

This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


Some people experience negative or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) when growing up. These people often have health problems in adulthood, including chronic pain. The body builds a pain-relieving system that helps reduce pain. The study team are researching whether ACEs alter how that inbuilt pain-relieving system works.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

14 Jul 2024 01 Nov 2025

Publications

2025 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39773807/ (added 10/01/2025)

Observational

Intervention Type : Other
Intervention Description : The primary aim of the ACE-MAP study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the proposed study procedures. The secondary aim is to generate preliminary data to understand the impact of ACEs on QST and CPM parameters in people with multimorbidity and/or chronic pain.

Potential participants will be provided with a participant information sheet by email or post (depending on participant preference) before attending their assessment session. They will be given at least 24 hours to consider their participation and will have the opportunity to ask questions (via email or telephone) before the session.

Written informed consent will be obtained at the start of the assessment session, before the completion of any study assessments.

Next, participants will be asked to complete a series of questionnaires on:• Demographics, including year of birth, sex assigned at birth, ethnicity, recruitment stream, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SMID), level of education, employment status, and household income;• Health behaviours, using the General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ) and the World Health Organization’s Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST);• Long-term conditions;• Chronic pain, using the CAPE pain questionnaire (in the final stages of development);• Adverse childhood experiences, using the CAPE ACE questionnaire (in the final stages of development);• Medication.

Next will be the completion of physical measurements:• Weight;• Height;• Quantitative sensory testing (QST) on each hand, including thermal thresholds, mechanical thresholds, vibration thresholds, pressure-pain thresholds, stimulus-response function, and wind-up ratio;• Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) using the dominant hand for the test stimulus (heat pain threshold and pressure pain threshold) and the non-dominant hand for the conditioning stimulus (cold water bath at 10 C).

Finally, participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire on study acceptability, using a questionnaire

There is no planned follow-up for this study.



Patients aged 18 years and older with chronic pain with and without multimorbidity and multimorbidity without chronic pain, plus healthy volunteer controls; participants do not need to have a history of ACEs

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Unable to read or speak English to a sufficient standard to complete questionnaires or to follow instructions for sensory tests, 2. Lacks the capacity to consent to participate in the study3. Chronic pain without multimorbidity: Has ≥1 of the LTCs4. Multimorbidity without chronic pain: Has a diagnosis of chronic pain AND/OR has had persistent or recurring pain lasting >3 months5. Controls: Has ≥2 of the LTCs; A diagnosis of chronic pain AND/OR has had persistent or recurring pain lasting >3 months


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • Ninewells Hospital
    Ninewells Avenue
    Dundee
    DD1 9SY

Taking part in the study might not benefit the participant directly, but it is hoped that it will aid the understanding of how ACEs influence long-term health. These data may help convince doctors and other healthcare professionals to consider ACEs when dealing with their patients (something called “trauma-informed healthcare”). It may also identify whether people with ACEs need different types of pain-relieving treatment. Participants will receive a gift card for taking part and will their travel expenses reimbursed.

Prof Lesley Colvin
None provided
l.a.colvin@dundee.ac.uk


Dr Dhaneesha Senaratne
+44 (0)1382385374
dsenaratne002@dundee.ac.uk



More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.


The study is sponsored by University of Dundee and funded by University of Dundee.



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Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN10049430

Or CPMS 61937

Last updated 10 January 2025

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