Background: Children with cancer frequently experience pain, which may persist into survivorship. Furthermore, many undergo body composition changes throughout their disease trajectory. However, little is still known about the interplay between pain and body composition. Methods: This cross-sectional case–control study compared pain and anthropometric characteristics between 30 children with cancer (8–18 years) and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls and examined whether pain was associated with anthropometric characteristics and cancer diagnosis. Pain in the past two weeks, chronic pain, and pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) at the tibialis anterior and trapezius pars descendens muscles were assessed. Anthropometric measures included waist circumference, fat %, fat-free mass, muscle mass, body water %, and Body Mass Index. Results: Children with cancer had a higher prevalence of chronic pain (p = 0.011), lower PPTs at the tibialis anterior (p = 0.030), and fewer pain locations (p = 0.037). They also showed lower body water % (p = 0.020), and higher waist circumference (p = 0.012) and fat % (p = 0.026). Cancer diagnosis and lower muscle mass were associated with lower PPTs at both locations (tibialis anterior: p = 0.016, β = −0.305; p = 0.033, β = 0.267; trapezius pars descendens: p = 0.020, β = −0.286; p = 0.004, β = 0.361, respectively). Conclusions: Children with cancer differ from their healthy peers in both pain and body composition profiles. These findings underscore the need for systematic pain assessment and body composition monitoring in pediatric oncology and may help identify children at risk for heightened pain sensitivity and adverse body composition changes who could benefit from early, targeted interventions.

Purpose Previous research pointed towards a need of enhanced understanding of cardiac vagal modulation during resting and stress conditions in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This cross-sectional study addressed the following hypotheses: lower values of cardiac vagal modulation will be found in adolescents with ASD in comparison to typically developing (TD) peers; different levels of cardiac vagal reactivity and recovery will be found in adolescents with ASD; lower cardiac vagal modulation in adolescents with ASD is associated with lower psychosocial functioning and higher cortisol levels. Methods Age and gender matched groups of adolescents (13-17 year) with ASD (n=47) and TD peers (n=47) were included. Heart rate, breathing frequency and cortisol levels were determined during baseline and a standardized stress-provoking assessment. Behavioral data concerning autism and behavioral characteristics were collected prior to the assessment. Results Adolescents with ASD displayed lower levels of cardiac vagal modulation during baseline and stress-provocation compared to their TD peers. However, levels of cardiac vagal reactivity and recovery were similar across groups. Weak to moderate associations were found between the level of cardiac vagal modulation and self- and parent-reported measures of autism characteristics and psychosocial functioning in adolescents with ASD. No significant associations were found between baseline cortisol levels and cardiac vagal modulation in both groups. Conclusion These findings suggest a parasympathetic hypo-activity in adolescents with ASD and, although the level of reactivity and recovery was the same as TD peers, this hypo-activity is related to several aspects of psychosocial functioning.