May 17, 2023 – An individual’s risk of developing chronic pain is higher than the danger of developing a few of the commonest diseases within the United States, similar to diabetes, depression or hypertension, a brand new study shows.
Over a one-year period, 6 in 100 previously pain-free adults reported developing chronic pain, and 1 in 100 developed pain so severe that it significantly limited their lives, in line with the study published this week within the journal. JAMA network openedBy comparison, within the United States annually, 7 out of 1,000 individuals are newly diagnosed with diabetes, 16 out of 1,000 individuals are diagnosed with depression, and 45 out of 1,000 are diagnosed with hypertension.
Chronic pain was defined as pain that happens most days or daily and lasts for at the least 3 months. More severe pain, called high-grade chronic pain, was defined as pain that causes significant limitations in life activities, including work, social life, and self-care.
Researchers analyzed data from greater than 10,000 non-institutionalized American adults. Participants were 52% women, 73% white, and the typical age was 49. They were asked the identical two questions in 2019 and 2020: “How often have you had pain in the past 3 months?” and “How often has pain limited your life or work activities in the past 3 months?”
At the beginning of the study, 40% reported no pain, 39% reported non-chronic pain, and 21% reported chronic pain. More than half of the people in each pain group had the identical level of pain one yr later.
Of those that didn’t have chronic pain at the beginning of the study, 15% reported that their pain had turn into chronic pain one yr later, while 10% had fully recovered. Of those that had chronic pain at the beginning, 10% had fully recovered one yr later.
The risk of experiencing chronic pain increases by 29% after age 50, the researchers found. There was no gender difference in the danger of experiencing chronic pain. The researchers said they conducted the study because there isn't much data available to evaluate how common chronic pain is within the U.S.
“This comparison highlights the high burden of chronic pain in the US adult population and the need for both prevention and early treatment of pain before it can become chronic, particularly in higher-risk groups,” they concluded.