Home Family Practice Nearly 60 Percent of Adults Report Pain in Past Three Months

Nearly 60 Percent of Adults Report Pain in Past Three Months

39.0 percent reported back pain, 36.5 percent reported lower-limb pain, 30.7 percent reported upper-limb pain

THURSDAY, July 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In 2019, 58.9 percent of adults reported any pain in the previous three months, with 39.0, 36.5, and 30.7 percent experiencing back, lower-limb, and upper-limb pain, respectively, according to a July data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Jacqueline W. Lucas, M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, used data from the National Health Interview Survey to provide national estimates of any pain in the previous three months among U.S. adults aged 18 years and older.

The researchers found that in 2019, 58.9 percent of adults experienced any pain; 39.0, 36.5, and 30.7 percent had back pain and lower- and upper-limb pain, respectively, in the previous three months. The likelihood of experiencing back pain was highest for adults aged 65 years and older, women, non-Hispanic White adults, and those with income below 100 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). The likelihood of experiencing lower-limb pain was lowest for adults aged 18 to 29 years (21.0 percent), men (33.5 percent), non-Hispanic Asian adults (20.6 percent), and those with income 200 percent of the FPL or above (35.2 percent). The likelihood of experiencing upper-limb pain was highest for adults aged 65 years and older, women, non-Hispanic White adults, and those with income below 100 percent of the FPL.

“The prevalence of pain experienced at each of these locations increased with age and was highest among adults aged 65 and over,” the authors write.

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