Prevalence and correlates of chronic pain in a random population study of adults in Chongqing, China.

Objective: Numerous studies have documented rates of chronic pain in developed western nations; however, little is known about its prevalence or correlates in rapidly developing countries, where much of the world's population lives. This study was designed to assess the prevalence of chronic pain among adults in Chongqing, China and the correlates of chronicity among respondents with pain and degree of impairment within the subgroup reporting chronic pain.

Design: A structured telephone interview was used within a cross-sectional design. Chronic pain was defined as the pain that had persisted for ≥3 months.

Participants: Adults from a random sample of 1003 Chongqing households completed a structured telephone interview on pain experiences of themselves and other family members over the past 6 months.

Results: Overall, 42.2% of interviewees reported pain for at least 1 day during the past 6 months and 25.8% experienced pain lasting for at least 3 months. The most common complaints were back pain (17.6%), headache (14.2%), joint pain, (10.5%), and abdominal pain (10.4%). Among those who reported pain, correlates of a chronic duration included older age, presence of back pain, heightened impairment, use of Chinese medicine, and greater numer of interventions used for pain management. For interviewees whose pain was chronic, increased functional impairment was related to older age, presence of pain every day, and increased likelihood of consulting physicians and using Chinese medicine to manage pain.

Conclusions: Rates of chronic pain in Chongqing appear to approximate to those reported in western countries. A significant minority of those affected report substantial or severe impairment and are more likely than less impaired cohorts to have sought medical interventions to manage pain.