Chronic pain is now being diagnosed at a higher rate than diabetes, depression or high blood pressure, according to an annual CDC survey that asks adults if they have experienced pain most or every day in the last three months. Within a one-year period the risk of developing chronic pain in previously pain free individuals was 6 in 100.
1 in 100 reported such significant pain it substantially restricted their activities. In comparison, 7 in 1000 are newly diagnosed with diabetes, 16 in 1000 with depression and 45 per 1000 with high blood pressure annually. While researchers did not see a gender difference there was a 29% increased risk for those over the age of 50.
“What we’re finding is, to nobody’s surprise, we have an astounding problem of pre-existing chronic pain in this country and a huge amount of people who are developing chronic pain as each year goes by,” said Dr. Sean Mackey, chief of pain medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the research.
That’s why it’s so important to diagnose, intervene and treat those of us suffering daily. The numbers are staggering- an estimated 20.9% of the US population in a recent study from the CDC. But they didn’t account for those in the military (it’s believed to affect an estimated 31-44% of active-duty service members and is the leading cause of disability and reduced readiness), nursing homes or institutionalized. Nor did it take into account impediments caused by the COVID pandemic which may have affected collection of data and responses.
Chronic pain is defined as having pain for at least 3 consecutive months or more. In the 2021 CDC survey, 58% of Americans responded they’d had constant pain in some area of the body within the last 3 months, so the number is probably significantly higher. Add in everyone else affected by someone who lives with chronic pain and there are few left untouched.
As with any chronic process it’s not just health and physical well-being that’s affected, there are emotional, social and economic impacts as well. Chronic pain is so pervasive and persistent its costs to the individual, family workforce and society as a whole are enormous.
Financial costs
In one study, those with pain pay $7,726 more on annual healthcare costs than those without pain, or an average of $644 per month. Researchers also noted adults suffering from chronic pain missed more workdays which affected annual wages. In one study the financial costs due to chronic pain was estimated to be $635 billion a year in medical treatments, disability payments and loss of productivity. It is one of the most common complaints seen in an outpatient setting. The biggest share is attributed to low back and neck pain. This doesn’t include the estimated $22 billion in out-of-cost expenditures. In comparison the annual cost of heart disease was $309 billion, cancer $243 billion, and diabetes $188 billion. With the overwhelming numbers today that amount may be dwarfed. According to a 2019 CDC report it was the leading driver of the nation’s then nearly $4.2 trillion annual health care costs.
Emotional costs
It’s difficult enough to deal with the daily struggles and limitations chronic pain creates, but the resulting negative feelings, isolation, despair and desperation can lead to heartbreaking statistics. Those with chronic pain:
- Experience twice the risk of suicide
- Are four times more likely to be depressed or anxious. Some studies estimate 85% of chronic pain suffers also have depression.
- Have sleep disorders
- Are at high risk for substance abuse and/ or addiction.
According to a 2019 CDC report, chronic pain was the leading cause of death and disability. It’s not surprising that a U.S. pain survey found 74% of respondents admitted living with pain for at least 10 years and 34% more than 20.
Opioid epidemic
The human toll is profound. Desperate to find help and answers a pharmaceutical company was willing to destroy lives to make money. Over a half a million people have already been lost to this man-made problem. The number of opioid deaths per year has rivaled or exceeded traffic accidents. Patients and families have been thrown into chaos or torn apart. There is no number that can be put on how much this epidemic has cost. But the actual dollar amount to governmental agencies, insurances, employers, families, according to the CDC, was estimated to be $1.02 trillion in 2018, $985 billion in 2019 and nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020. The fatal rise in overdoses in 2021 and 2022 suggests even higher numbers for those years. Dealing with this devastating addiction has to be a priority.
Chronic pain is an insidious process that affects not just the person involved but everyone around them. It’s so pervasive if you aren’t the one suffering, you know someone who is. Studies show many don’t even seek help due to the stigma or believing nothing can help. That’s not true. We have a multitude of options available that can make a real difference. If you or someone you know is suffering, encourage them to find a reputable provider to discuss what may work for them.
Finding better, more successful means of treating an illness that impacts a significant portion of our entire population is an urgent need. New research has found where pain signals originate deep in the brain. Mapping these pathways may be our best option to stopping them altogether in the future. I’ll discuss these exciting developments next week.
-https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7215a1.htm#contribAff
-https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(18)30358-4/fulltext
-https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M18-0830
-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000181/
-https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-diseases.htm
-https://www.healthdata.org/news-release/low-back-and-neck-pain-tops-us-health-spending
-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36096352/
-https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0213889
-https://uspainfoundation.org/news/the-financial-and-emotional-cost-of-chronic-pain/#:~:text=One%20study%20found%20that%20people,an%20additional%20%24644%20per%20month.
-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553030/
-https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/10/24/773148861/calculating-the-real-costs-of-the-opioid-epidemic
-https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2780313
I have lived with pain for almost ten years. I don’t find that ‘a multitude of options” ‘ has been offered to me. Doctors seem at a loss, unable to prescribe opioids, and even threatening that Tylenol and Ibuprofen are ‘bad for you’. I have wanted to be dead rather than live this way. I look to death as the only relief I will get, but I won’t kill myself,. I won’t teach me children that suicide is a way to deal with hardship. So all I can do is soldier on, finding what little relief I can. Don’t make light of chronic pain, or deprive those with it of anything ANYTHING to give them some peace.
Chronic pain is an insidious, overwhelming, and difficult issue to treat because it impacts all aspects of life.
But we learned the hard way the devastating toll opioid use has cost us. They are not the answer. In some situations, they may be a small part of a comprehensive treatment program.
As with anything we prescribe, side effects, risks vs benefits, and appropriate interventions have to be the priority.
I’m so sorry to hear your pain and suffering and would never diminish or minimize your anguish. Please look into all the options that are available to help.