Highlights
- •Chronic pain prevalence of 42% was found in this cross-sectional survey from São Paulo City, Brazil.
- •High-intensity or high-interference pain was present for 78.1% of the persons with chronic pain.
- •Independent indicators of chronic pain were females, age ≥ 30 years, education <4 years, anxiety, and physical strain.
- •Chronic pain was associated with a worse self-assessment of quality of life and self-rated health.
- •Anxiety, depression, use of medication, and medical visits increased with pain grades.
Abstract
A cross-sectional epidemiologic survey was performed to determine the prevalence of
chronic pain (CP) and to identify associated factors in a random sample of persons
15 years or older from a segment of the population of São Paulo City, Brazil. A total
of 1,108 eligible participants were randomly selected, and face-to-face interviews
were performed with 826 individuals (74.5%) between December 2011 and February 2012.
Chronic Pain Grade, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and EuroQol-5D were used
to verify pain characteristics and the associated signs of psychological distress.
A prevalence of 42% (95% confidence interval, 38.6–45.4) was observed for CP, and
the participants with CP had an average pain intensity of 5.9 (standard deviation
= 1.9) and a pain-related disability of 4.1 (standard deviation = 3.2) on a 0 to 10
scale. Persistent pain was present in 68.6% of those with CP, and 32.8% of the population
sample had high-intensity or high-interference pain (Chronic Pain Grade II, III, and
IV). Quality of life was significantly worse among the CP individuals. The following
factors were independently associated with CP: female gender, age 30 years or older, ≤4
years of education, symptoms consistent with anxiety, and intense physical strain.
Indicators of pain severity increased with pain grades.
Perspective
CP is highly prevalent in the city of São Paulo and has a considerable impact on health-related
quality of life. Demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological factors are independently
associated with this condition.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 16, 2014
Accepted:
July 1,
2014
Received in revised form:
June 24,
2014
Received:
February 5,
2014
Footnotes
Supported by Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo and Centro de Saúde Escola Barra Funda, São Paulo.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
