Determining long-term trends in chronic pain prevalence is critical for evaluating and shaping U.S. health policies, but little research has examined such trends. This study (1) provides estimates of pain trends among U.S. adults across major population groups; (2) tests whether sociodemographic disparities in pain have widened or narrowed over time; and (3) examines socioeconomic, behavioral, psychological, and medical correlates of pain trends. Regression and decomposition analyses of joint, low back, neck, facial/jaw pain, and headache/migraine using the 2002-2018 National Health Interview Survey for adults aged 25-84 (N  =  441,707) assess the trends and their correlates. We find extensive escalation of pain prevalence in all population subgroups: overall, reports of pain in at least one site increased by 10%, representing an additional 10.5 million adults experiencing pain. Socioeconomic disparities in pain are widening over time, and psychological distress and health behaviors are among the salient correlates of the trends. This study thus comprehensively documents rising pain prevalence among Americans across the adult life span and highlights socioeconomic, behavioral, and psychological factors as important correlates of the trends. Chronic pain is an important dimension of population health, and demographic research should include it when studying health and health disparities.

中文翻译：

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2002-2018 年美国成年人的疼痛趋势：模式、差异和相关性。


确定慢性疼痛患病率的长期趋势对于评估和制定美国卫生政策至关重要，但很少有研究探讨这种趋势。这项研究 (1) 提供了美国成年人主要人群疼痛趋势的估计； (2) 测试疼痛的社会人口差异是否随着时间的推移而扩大或缩小； (3) 检查疼痛趋势的社会经济、行为、心理和医学相关性。使用 2002-2018 年 25-84 岁成年人全国健康访谈调查 (N = 441,707) 对关节、腰背、颈部、面部/下巴疼痛和头痛/偏头痛进行回归和分解分析，评估趋势及其相关性。我们发现所有人口亚组的疼痛患病率大幅上升：总体而言，至少一个部位的疼痛报告增加了 10%，意味着另外 1050 万成年人正经历疼痛。随着时间的推移，疼痛的社会经济差异正在扩大，心理困扰和健康行为是这些趋势的显着相关因素之一。因此，这项研究全面记录了美国人在整个成年生命周期中疼痛患病率不断上升的情况，并强调社会经济、行为和心理因素是这些趋势的重要相关因素。慢性疼痛是人口健康的一个重要方面，人口统计研究在研究健康和健康差异时应将其包括在内。