Chronic pain is conveniently defined as any pain that persists for at least three months despite sensible treatment. It ultimately affects almost half of all adults and is most likely to occur in older people. Chronic pain is known to have significant effects on health and well-being and is a major cause of lost workdays.
Very Well Health say the most common chronic pain conditions in the U.S. are:
- Migraine
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Osteoarthritis (OA)
- Vulvodynia
- Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)
- Fibromyalgia
Together, those six conditions affect more than 150 million Americans.
The UK NHS says that “Almost half the adult population is living with chronic pain,” the Daily Mail reports. A major new review suggests that around 28 million adults in the UK are affected by some type of chronic pain (pain that lasts for more than three months).
The researchers used data from 19 studies that included almost 140,000 adults. They extrapolated the results to come up with the estimate that around 43% of people in the UK experience chronic pain. More adults aged 75 or over (62%) experienced pain than those aged 18 to 25 (14.3%). Some of these chronic pain conditions include –
- Low back pain.
- Arthritis, especially osteoarthritis.
- Headache.
- Multiple sclerosis.
- Fibromyalgia.
- Shingles.
- Nerve damage (neuropathy)
- Cancer Pain
The British Journal of Anesthesia say that “Chronic pain is a common, complex, and distressing problem, which has a significant impact on society and individuals. It commonly presents as a result of an injury or a disease; however, it is a separate condition in its own right, not merely an accompanying symptom of other ailments. Chronic pain, therefore, has both its own taxonomy and medical definition.”
The population that has the highest prevalence is among women (21.7%), non-Hispanic white adults (23.6%), and those aged 65 and over (30.8%). High impact chronic pain was highest among women (8.5%) and those aged 65 and over (11.8%).
According to Pathways The Country rankings of chronic pain by the number of people affected is –
China – 501 million 39.92% of the population
India – 174 million 13% of the population
United States – between 100 and 116 million 30% of the population
Brazil – 77 million 37% of the population
Mexico – 28.5 million 27% of the population
United Kingdom – 28 million 43% of population
South Africa – 23.7 million 42.3% of the population
Colombia – 23 million 46% of the population
France – 20 million 30% of the population
Germany – between 12 and 20.5 million 14.5 to 25% of the population
Poland – 16 million 42% of the population
Italy -16.2 million 26% of the population
South Korea – 15 million 30% of the population
Japan – 12.7 million 11% of the population
Philippines – 11 million 10.4% of the population
Then the figures really start to fall with Spain – 8 million and only 17% of the population – Australia – 5 million and 20% of the population, Chile -5 million and 27% of the population,
Bolivia – 3.5 million and 3.5% of the population, Portugal -3 million and 31% of the population, Austria – 2.2 million and 24.9% of the population, Netherlands – 2.2 million and 20 % of the population, Finland – 2 million and 35% of the population, Malayasia – 2 million and 7% of the population, Sweden- 1.8 million and only 18% of the population, Norway-1.6 million and 31% of the population, Canada – 1.5 million and 10% of the population, Switzerland – 1.4 million and only 16% of the population, Singapore 1.2 million and 20% of the population, Denmark – 1.1 million and 20.2% of the population, New Zealand – 791 550 and 16.7%, Ireland – 620 000 and 13% of the population and finally Iceland – 160 000 but 47.5% of the population.
It’s a fascinating read of these statistics especially the last one from Iceland with such a low amount and yet such a high proportion of the population.
Source : Pathways
BACK PAIN BLOG UK... 
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