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. 2018 Jan;130(1-2):14-22.
doi: 10.1007/s00508-017-1223-x. Epub 2017 Jun 20.

How are socio-demographic and psycho-social factors associated with the prevalence and chronicity of severe pain in 14 different body sites? A cross-sectional population-based survey

Thomas Ernst Dorner  1 , Katharina Viktoria Stein  2 , Julia Hahne  3 , Florian Wepner  3 , Martin Friedrich  3 , Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz  4
Affiliations

How are socio-demographic and psycho-social factors associated with the prevalence and chronicity of severe pain in 14 different body sites? A cross-sectional population-based survey

Thomas Ernst Dorner et al. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Severe pain and chronic pain have a high impact on individuals and society. Body location of pain is important with regard to perception, articulation, and underlying biological, mental or social causes of pain.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed in the general Austrian population with 15,474 personally interviewed subjects aged 15 years and older.

Results: The 1‑year period prevalence of severe pain in any body site was 38.6% and of chronic pain 24.9%. In all, 8.1% had pain in at least three body sites. Subjects aged 65 years and older (52.2%), those with low education (43.4%), unemployed subjects (50.4%), retired subjects (52.4%), those with anxiety/depression (67.7%), and subjects with lack of social support (49.6%) were sub-populations with high pain prevalence. In multivariate analyses, depression/anxiety was associated with prevalence and chronicity of severe pain in all body sites (range of ORs 1.89-5.01), while such associations were found for lack of social support (range of ORs 1.33-1.65), female sex (range of ORs 1.38-2.34), higher age (range of ORs 1.09-1.18 for 5 year intervals), as well as low educational (range of ORs 1.47-2.06 primary vs. tertiary education) and unemployment status (range of ORs 1.50-2.62) in most body sites. Being born in non-EU or EFTA states was associated with pain in many body sites (range of ORs 1.38-2.10).

Conclusions: Psychosocial factors are associated with pain presence in similar ways irrespective of location. Regarding socio-demographic factors, differences towards the magnitude and the direction in the association with pain frequency and chronicity in different body sites emerged.

Keywords: Body location; Chronic pain; Depression; Epidemiology; Socio-economic.

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Conflict of interest statement

T.E. Dorner, K.V. Stein, J. Hahne, F. Wepner, M. Friedrich, and E. Mittendorfer-Rutz declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Body image with possible body sites of pain. 1 head, 2 face, 3 neck, 4 shoulder, 5 arm, 6 hand, 7 chest, 8 abdomen, 9 upper back, 10 lower back, 11 pelvis, 12 hip, 13 leg, 14 foot
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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