The prevalence of neck pain in the world population: a systematic critical review of the literature

Fejer, René; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm; Hartvigsen, Jan

doi:10.1007/s00586-004-0864-4

Cited by 1,195Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMigraine and Headache StudiesCervical and Thoracic Myelopathy

The prevalence of neck pain in the world population: a systematic critical review of the literature

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Fejer, René, Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm, Hartvigsen, Jan·2006·European Spine Journal

DOI 10.1007/s00586-004-0864-4PMC PMC3489448

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of neck pain (NP) in the world population and to identify areas of methodological variation between studies. A systematic search was conducted in five databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, OSH-ROM, and PsycINFO), followed by a screening of reference lists of relevant papers. Included papers were extracted for information and each paper was given a quality score. Mean prevalence estimates were calculated for six prevalence periods (point, week, month, 6 months, year, and lifetime), and considered separately for age, gender, quality score, response rate, sample size, anatomical definition, geography, and publication year. Fifty-six papers were included. The six most commonly reported types of prevalence were point, week, month, 6 months, year, and lifetime. Except for lifetime prevalence, women reported more NP than men. For 1-year prevalence, Scandinavian countries reported more NP than the rest of Europe and Asia. Prevalence estimates were not affected by age, quality score, sample size, response rate, and different anatomical definitions of NP. NP is a common symptom in the population. As expected, the prevalence increases with longer prevalence periods and generally women have more NP than men. At least for 1-year prevalence Scandinavian countries report higher mean estimates than the rest of Europe and Asia. The quality of studies varies greatly but is not correlated with the prevalence estimates. Design varies considerably and standardisation is needed in future studies.

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The prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain is higher among women than men in community and treatment-seeking cohorts.
“It is well known that the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain is higher among women, both in community and treatment seeking cohorts [1–5].”
From Chronic pain and sex-differences; women accept and move, while men feel blue (2017) · cites this paper as [2]

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Authors: Fejer, R., Kyvik, K. O., & Hartvigsen, J.
Affiliations: University of Southern Denmark (DK)
Corresponding author: Fejer, René
ORCID: Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm
Hartvigsen, Jan
Venue: European Spine Journal
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2005-07-06
Volume: 15
Issue: 6
Pages: 834-848
ISSN: 0940-6719 (ISSN-L)
1432-0932
DOI: 10.1007/s00586-004-0864-4
PMC: PMC3489448
OpenAlex: W2003095469
Cited by: 1,195
References: 73
Citations by year: 2026: 47 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 66 · 2023: 97 · 2022: 102 · 2021: 104 · 2020: 89 · 2019: 86 · 2018: 63 · 2017: 79 · 2016: 63 · 2015: 64 · 2014: 52 · 2013: 52 · 2012: 46
FWCI: 1.58
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations: European Spine Journal (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Migraine and Headache Studies
Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Cervical and Thoracic Myelopathy
Keywords: neck pain, prevalence, lifetime prevalence, point prevalence, sex differences, regional variation, study quality, methodological variability
MeSH terms: Asia, Europe, Female, Humans, Male, North America, Scandinavian and Nordic Countries, Databases, Bibliographic, MEDLINE, Neck Pain

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The prevalence of neck pain in the world population: a systematic critical review of the literature

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