Impact of demographic factors on chronic pain among adults in the United States
Open accessAbstract
Introduction: Chronic pain affects more than 1 in 5 American adults, and its effects are not evenly distributed throughout the population. Methods: Using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a household-based annual survey of self-reported health status of U.S. adults, this cross-sectional study describes differences in the prevalence of chronic pain and its effects across socioeconomic groups. Results: In univariate analyses, chronic pain was more prevalent among female respondents, persons with lower educational attainment, non-Hispanic White individuals, and those who were insured as well as those who were married. After accounting for all other demographic factors, age, female sex, and lower educational attainment were associated with higher odds of having chronic pain, whereas Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black race were associated with lower odds. Despite lower odds of having chronic pain, Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black race were associated with greater odds of reporting more severe pain than White race. There were no significant differences across race in the effects of pain on life, work, or family, although female sex and lower educational attainment were associated with greater effects of pain on these domains. Educational attainment was the only characteristic associated with greater odds of ineffective pain management after accounting for all other demographic factors. Conclusions: Implications for reducing disparities in the treatment of chronic pain are discussed.
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Non-Hispanic Black adults and Hispanic adults are more likely to experience chronic pain than non-Hispanic white adults.
“It is established that non-Hispanic Black adults and Hispanic adults are more likely to experience chronic pain than non-Hispanic white adults, 31”
From Overview and Feasibility of a Novel Transdisciplinary Integrative Approach to High Impact Chronic Pain in Vermont (2024) · cites this paper as [31]
The Results and Discussion report the opposite for chronic pain overall: non-Hispanic White adults had the highest reported rate, and Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black adults had lower adjusted odds. The Introduction refers to earlier data about *severe* chronic pain, which does not support the unqualified claim about chronic pain. (LLM, conf=0.95)
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe NHIS data showed that increased age, decreasing level of education, and non-married status were associated with higher likelihood of the presence of chronic pain.
“The NHIS data showed that increased age, decreasing level of education, and non-married status were associated with higher likelihood of the presence of chronic pain. 31”
From Overview and Feasibility of a Novel Transdisciplinary Integrative Approach to High Impact Chronic Pain in Vermont (2024) · cites this paper as [31]
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“31 We (cid:1) 8.40 0.001 PEG life enjoyment 103 (cid:1) 9.45 0.001 PEG general activity interference 103 did not evaluate these relationships as part of this pilot feasibility study, and should be included in future evaluations.”
Influential
- Authors
- Mullins, P. M., Yong, R. J., & Bhattacharyya, N.
- Affiliations
- Emergency Medicine and
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mullins, Peter M.
- Venue
- PAIN Reports
- Published
- 2022-06-06
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- e1009
- ISSN
- 2471-2531 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10833639
- OpenAlex
- W4286284539
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 2.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PAIN Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- 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, demographic factors, socioeconomic disparities, educational attainment, sex differences, racial disparities, Hispanic adults, Black people, pain intensity, health insurance, marital status, United States adults
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