One in 20 U.S. Adults Have Co-occurring Chronic Pain and Anxiety or Depression

MONDAY, Oct. 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly one in 20 U.S. adults live with co-occurring chronic pain and clinically significant anxiety and/or depression (A/D), according to a study published online Sept. 21 in PAIN.

Jennifer S. De La Rosa, Ph.D., from University of Arizona in Tucson, and colleagues used data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey to understand the prevalence of co-occurring symptoms of chronic pain and clinically significant symptoms of A/D.

The researchers estimate that approximately 12 million U.S. adults (4.9 percent of the adult population) have co-occurring chronic pain and A/D symptoms. Among U.S. adults with chronic pain, unremitted A/D symptoms co-occurred in 23.9 percent compared with an A/D prevalence of 4.9 percent among those without chronic pain. Conversely, among U.S. adults with unremitted A/D symptoms, chronic pain co-occurred in the majority (55.6 percent) compared with a chronic pain prevalence of 17.1 percent among those without A/D symptoms. Those experiencing co-occurring symptoms had a higher likelihood of experiencing functional limitations in daily life (e.g., work, errands, social activities) compared with those experiencing chronic pain alone or A/D symptoms alone.

"Across all domains of functional activity in life, we saw an enormous jump among people who are living with both conditions," De La Rosa said in a statement. "These are people who are at a high risk for functional limitation, which will disturb their quality of life."

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