Cited by 265Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationHealth disparities and outcomesPain Management and Opioid Use

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in disabling chronic pain: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study

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Janevic, Mary R., McLaughlin, Sara J., Heapy, Alicia A., Thacker, Casey, Piette, John D.·2017·The Journal of Pain

Abstract

The U.S. National Pain Strategy calls for increased population research on "high-impact chronic pain" (ie, longstanding pain that substantially limits participation in daily activities). Using data from the nationally-representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we investigated the prevalence of high-impact chronic pain in U.S. adults older than age 50 overall and within population subgroups. We also explored sociodemographic variation in pain-related disability within specific activity domains. Data are from a subsample of HRS respondents (n = 1,925) who were randomly selected for a supplementary pain module in 2010. Our outcome was operationalized as pain duration of ≥7 months and a disability rating of ≥7 (0-10 scale) in at least 1 domain: family/home, leisure, social activities, work, or basic activities. Overall, 8.2% (95% confidence interval = 6.7-10.1%) of adults older than age 50 met criteria for high-impact chronic pain. This proportion rose to 17.1% (95% confidence interval = 12.3-23.4%) among individuals in the lowest wealth quartile. Prevalence differences according to education, race/ethnicity, and age were not significant. Arthritis and depression were significantly associated with high-impact pain in multivariable analysis. Among adults with any chronic pain, African American and individuals in the lowest wealth quartile reported more pain-related disability across activity domains.Perspective High-impact chronic pain is unequally distributed among midlife and older U.S. adults. Efforts to reduce the burden of disabling chronic pain should prioritize socioeconomically vulnerable groups, who may have the least access to multimodal pain treatment to improve function.

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Authors
Janevic, M. R., McLaughlin, S. J., Heapy, A. A., Thacker, C., & Piette, J. D.
Affiliations
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • Miami University (US)
  • Yale University (US)
Corresponding author
Janevic, Mary R.
Venue
The Journal of Pain
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-12
Volume
18
Issue
12
Pages
1459-1467
ISSN
1526-5900 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2741522336
Cited by
265
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 10
FWCI
9.93
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Pain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Aging (K01AG050706, U01AG009740)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (P30DK092926)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
Keywords
chronic pain, pain-related disability, racial disparities, socioeconomic disparities, older adults, African Americans, poverty, arthritis, depression, pain prevalence, activity limitation, multimodal pain management
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Black or African American, Female, Persons with Disabilities, Disabled Persons, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Social Class, United States, Health Status Disparities, Chronic Pain

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