In a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, researchers found that 1 in 5 American adults experience chronic pain.
Chronic pain is among the most common chronic conditions in the United States, but estimates of its prevalence and impact vary widely.
In 2019, the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added a new set of questions relating to pain to its National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a large household-based annual survey.
In the study, the team found U.S. adults experience chronic pain based on analysis of the new NHIS data. They estimated the total value of lost productivity due to chronic pain to be nearly $300 billion annually.
They found that respondents with chronic pain reported missing much more workdays compared to those without chronic pain (10.3 days versus 2.8).
Those with chronic pain also reported more limitations to their engagement in social activities and activities of daily living.
Back, hip, knee and foot pain were the most common sources of pain reported, and physical therapy and massage therapy were most commonly sought as treatments.
The team found that many of chronic sinusitis patients also reported headache, migraine, and other forms of chronic pain.
The 2019 NHIS included data from 31,997 adults across the nation. When the data was first published in May, investigators decided to focus their initial analysis on ascertaining national estimates of prevalence and impact, but plan to conduct further analysis of other questions included in the survey.
This may reveal more specific trends related to pain and its treatment across the U.S., especially regarding opioid use.
If you care about chronic pain, please read studies about why cholesterol-lowering drug statins cause muscle pain and findings of many older people with low back pain don’t get recommended treatment.
For more information about chronic pain prevention and treatment, please see recent studies about this pain killer may increase your hip fracture risk and results showing that common pain reliever may restore limb function after spinal cord injury.
The study is published in Pain. One author of the study is R. Jason Yong, MD, MBA.
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