NIH: Handicap as common with chronic pain as with another illness

Approximately 11 million adults across the country suffer from chronic, high-impact pain characterized by pain lasting at least three months and resulting in at least a significant restriction of activity. And a new study from the National Institutes of Health shows that disability is as likely among those who have suffered chronic pain as in patients with kidney failure, emphysema, or stroke .

The study – conducted by scientists from the National Complementary and Integrative Health Center and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health as well as the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, in Seattle – was published in the
Diary of pain.

"The multidimensional nature of chronic pain is not reflected in commonly used operational definitions based solely on the duration of pain, resulting in excessively high prevalence estimates that limit our ability to effectively treat chronic pain at the national level." said Mark Pitcher. of the study, in a press release.

The high-impact chronic pain population accounts for approximately 4.8% of the US adult population. According to the researchers, about 83% of those suffering from this pain were unable to work for a living and one third had difficulty getting treatment and dressing.

While previous research has assessed the impact of pain with the help of questions asking how much pain interferes with the activities of life, scientists believe that it is likely that people with Severe pain is hard to achieve important activities. . Thus, the new study used an alternative approach, which assessed activity limitations and participation restrictions by using questions about general disability without referring to the experience of pain.

"It is essential that we fully understand how chronic pain affects people's lives. It will help improve care for people with chronic pain and will strategically guide our research programs to reduce the burden of pain at the population level, "said Linda Porter, Ph.D., director of the Office of the Attorney General. pain policy at NINDS the press release. "The results of this study are an important step towards these goals."

The study used nationally representative data from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey to assess prevalence, psychosocial characteristics, health status, and health status. health care use of the population suffering from chronic pain. The study also determined the degree of contribution of other chronic health conditions to activity limitations and participation restrictions. Statistical analyzes were performed on merged datasets representing a weighted population of approximately 220.3 million non-institutionalized adults.

The research, according to the NIH, finally highlights the role of pain-related disability as a key indicator of the impact of pain. The experts said that the results of the study could improve treatments and provide essential information to decision-makers.