Elsevier

The Journal of Pain

Volume 9, Issue 10, October 2008, Pages 883-891
The Journal of Pain

Original report
Common Chronic Pain Conditions in Developed and Developing Countries: Gender and Age Differences and Comorbidity With Depression-Anxiety Disorders

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2008.05.005Get rights and content
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Abstract

Although there is a growing body of research concerning the prevalence and correlates of chronic pain conditions and their association with mental disorders, cross-national research on age and gender differences is limited. The present study reports the prevalence by age and gender of common chronic pain conditions (headache, back or neck pain, arthritis or joint pain, and other chronic pain) in 10 developed and 7 developing countries and their association with the spectrum of both depressive and anxiety disorders. It draws on data from 18 general adult population surveys using a common survey questionnaire (N = 42,249). Results show that age-standardized prevalence of chronic pain conditions in the previous 12 months was 37.3% in developed countries and 41.1% in developing countries, with back pain and headache being somewhat more common in developing than developed countries. After controlling for comorbid chronic physical diseases, several findings were consistent across developing and developed countries. There was a higher prevalence of chronic pain conditions among females and older persons; and chronic pain was similarly associated with depression-anxiety spectrum disorders in developed and developing countries. However, the large majority of persons reporting chronic pain did not meet criteria for depression or anxiety disorder. We conclude that common pain conditions affect a large percentage of persons in both developed and developing countries.

Perspective

Chronic pain conditions are common in both developed and developing countries. Overall, the prevalence of pain is greater among females and among older persons. Although most persons reporting pain do not meet criteria for a depressive or anxiety disorder, depression/anxiety spectrum disorders are associated with pain in both developed and developing countries.

Key words

Chronic pain
depression
anxiety disorders
comorbidity
gender difference
age difference

Cited by (0)

Supported by the United States National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD (R01MH070884), the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL, the Pfizer Foundation, New York, NY, the U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, DC (R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864, and R01 DA016558), the Fogarty International Center, Bethesda, MD (FIRCA R01-TW006481), the Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc, Titusville, NJ, Glaxo SmithKline, Middlesex, UK, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, Philadelphia, PA. A complete list of WMH publications can be found at http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/wmh/. The Chinese World Mental Health Survey Initiative is supported by the Pfizer Foundation, New York, NY. The Colombian National Study of Mental Health (NSMH) is supported by the Ministry of Social Protection, Bogotá D.C., Colombia. The ESEMeD project is funded by the European Commission, Bruxelles, Belgium (Contracts QLG5-1999-01042; SANCO 2004123), the Piedmont Region (Italy), Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain (FIS 00/0028), Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, Spain (SAF 2000-158-CE), Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya, Madrid, Spain, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain (CIBER CB06/02/0046, RETICS RD06/0011 REM-TAP), and other local agencies and by an unrestricted educational grant from Glaxo SmithKline, Middlesex, UK. The Israel National Health Survey is funded by the Ministry of Health with support from the Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research and the National Insurance Institute of Israel, Tel Hashomer, Israel. The World Mental Health Japan (WMHJ) Survey is supported by the Grant for Research on Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases and Mental Health (H13-SHOGAI-023, H14-TOKUBETSU-026, H16-KOKORO-013) from the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Tokyo, Japan. The Lebanese National Mental Health Survey (LEBANON) is supported by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the WHO (Lebanon), anonymous private donations to IDRAAC, Lebanon, and unrestricted grants from Janssen Cilag, Berchem, Belgium, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, Glaxo SmithKline, Middlesex, UK, Roche, Basel, Switzerland, and Novartis, Basel, Switzerland. The Mexican National Comorbidity Survey (MNCS) is supported by The National Institute of Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente, Mexico City, Mexico (INPRFMDIES 4280) and by the National Council on Science and Technology, Benito Juárez C.P., Mexico (CONACyT-G30544-H), with supplemental support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Washington, DC, Te Rau Hinengaro: The New Zealand Mental Health Survey (NZMHS) is supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Health, Alcohol Advisory Council, and the Health Research Council, Wellington, New Zealand. The Nigerian Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being (NSMHW) is supported by the WHO (Geneva), the WHO (Nigeria), and the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Nigeria. The South Africa Stress and Health Study (SASH) is supported by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD (R01-MH059575) and National Institute of Drug Abuse, Bethesda, MD with supplemental funding from the South African Department of Health, Pretoria, South Africa, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. The Ukraine Comorbid Mental Disorders during Periods of Social Disruption (CMDPSD) study is funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD (RO1-MH61905). The US National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD (NIMH; U01-MH60220) with supplemental support from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), Bethesda, MD, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, MD (SAMHSA), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ (RWJF; Grant 044708), and the John W. Alden Trust, Boston, MA.