NIH Study Finds High Rates of Persistent Chronic Pain Among U.S. Adults
NIH Study Finds High Rates of Persistent Chronic Pain Among U.S. Adults
- New cases of chronic pain occur more often among U.S. adults than new cases of several other common conditions, including diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure.
- Among people who have chronic pain, almost two-thirds still suffer from it a year later.
- The rate of chronic pain among adults is approximately 21%.
- Links between the widespread burden of chronic pain and the country’s opioid epidemic underscore the urgency to understand and address the issue of pain.
- The incidence of new chronic pain cases was high, at 52.4 cases per 1,000 persons per year. New chronic pain cases are much higher than other common chronic conditions, such as diabetes (7.1 cases/1,000 per year), depression (15.9 cases/ 1,000 per year), and hypertension (45.3 cases/1,000 per year).
- Early management of pain is important due a high occurrence of new cases.
- Chronic pain is highly persistent, with almost two-thirds (61.4%) reporting chronic pain a year later.
Study Conclusion: The incidence of chronic pain was high compared with other chronic diseases. These results emphasize the high disease burden of chronic pain in the US adult population and the need for early management of pain before it becomes chronic.
Reference: Nahin RL, Feinberg T, Kapos FP, Terman GW. Estimated Rates of Incident and Persistent Chronic Pain Among US Adults, 2019-2020. JAMA Netw Open. 2023.
