Chronic pain is substantially more common in the US than diabetes, depression and high blood pressure, according to a study

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There are more new cases of chronic pain among US adults than other common long-term conditions like diabetes, depression and high blood pressure, according to a new study.

The researchers say their findings “emphasize the high disease burden of chronic pain in the US adult population and the need for early pain control.”

Investigation published last month in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report estimated that more than 51 million people (more than 20% of US adults). chronic pain.

the new studypublished Monday in JAMA Network Open, analyzed data from more than 10,000 participants in the National Health Interview Survey, which is conducted annually by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The researchers looked at participant reports of chronic pain, defined as pain on most days or every day for the past three months, and high-impact chronic pain, defined as chronic pain that limits activities of living or I work most days or every day. during the last three months.

Among people who reported no pain in 2019, the annual rate of chronic pain the following year was 52.4 per 1,000 people, and there were 12 cases of high-impact chronic pain per 1,000 people. By comparison, the researchers say, there are 7.1 cases of diabetes, 15.9 cases of depression and 45.3 cases of high blood pressure per 1,000 people per year.

Nearly two-thirds of the participants who reported chronic pain in 2019 said they still had it a year later. However, more than 10% of people with chronic pain in 2019 were pain free in 2020.

“This study not only demonstrates the terrible burden of pain in this country. While the 10% of people who recover from chronic pain give us hope, we have an urgent scientific imperative to expand our pain-fighting tools so we can restore many more to pain-free lives,” said Dr. Helene M Langevin, director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, said in a Press release. “The onset of any chronic condition is a crucial time and early intervention can make a significant difference in the cost that the condition takes on the individual.”

The study was conducted by researchers at NCCIH, the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and the University of Washington, Seattle.

They noted that their work had some limitations, including a lack of information about the underlying causes of pain. Data was collected only twice over two years, and people who reported chronic or high-impact chronic pain might have been less likely to participate in the follow-up survey. There was also limited information on American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Asians.