NIH: More than one in 10 adults report chronic pain

An estimated 25.3 million adults (11.2%) suffer from daily pain, according to a new analysis of data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. More than half of adults (56%) reported some pain in the three months before the survey. Adults in the two most severe pain groups were likely to have worse health status, use more health care and suffer from more disability than those with less severe pain, according to the study. “This analysis adds valuable new scope to our understanding of pain and could inform the National Pain Strategy in the areas of population research and disparities,” said Josephine Briggs, M.D., director of National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, which funded the study. “It may help shape future research, development and targeting of effective pain interventions, including complementary health approaches.” The study was published in The Journal of Pain.