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. 2015 Aug;16(8):769-80.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2015.05.002. Epub 2015 May 29.

Estimates of pain prevalence and severity in adults: United States, 2012

Richard L Nahin  1
Affiliations

Estimates of pain prevalence and severity in adults: United States, 2012

Richard L Nahin. J Pain. 2015 Aug.

Abstract

Using a simple approach for coding pain severity, the present study describes self-reported pain in U.S. adults. Data are included for 8,781 adults who completed the Functioning and Disability Supplement of the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. An internationally piloted pain severity coding system was used to group participants into 5 discrete ordered pain categories based on their pain persistence (days with pain in the last 3 months) and bothersomeness (little, a lot, somewhere in between): pain free and categories 1 (low) to 4 (high). It is estimated that 126.1 million adults reported some pain in the previous 3 months, with 25.3 million adults (11.2%) suffering from daily (chronic) pain and 23.4 million (10.3%) reporting a lot of pain. Based on the persistence and bothersomeness of their pain, 14.4 million adults (6.4%) were classified as having the highest level of pain, category 4, with an additional 25.4 million adults (11.3%) experiencing category 3 pain. Individuals with category 3 or 4 pain were likely to have worse health status, to use more health care, and to suffer from more disability than those with less severe pain. Associations were seen between pain severity and selected demographic variables including race, ethnicity, preferred language, sex, and age.

Perspective: U.S. estimates of pain prevalence are presented using a simple approach for assigning pain severity developed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics. Concurrent validity is assessed. Although this approach is promising, additional work is required to determine the usefulness of the Washington Group pain categories for pain research or clinical practice.

Keywords: Cross-sectional study; language preference; minority groups; pain frequency; pain severity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author has no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of Washington Group pain categories 1 to 4 in the U.S. adult population by pain persistence and bothersomeness.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between the reported number of painful health conditions and Washington Group pain categories.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between Washington Group pain categories and measures of health status.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Association between Washington Group pain categories and measures of disability.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Association between Washington Group pain categories and measures of healthcare utilization.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Distribution of Washington Group pain categories across selected language/ethnic/racial groups.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Impact of the number of painful health conditions on the prevalence of category 3 or 4 pain across selected language/ethnic/racial groups.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Impact of sex on the prevalence of category 3 or 4 pain across selected language/ethnic/racial groups.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Impact of age on the prevalence of category 3 or 4 pain across selected language/ethnic/racial groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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