The work titled “Prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of chronic pain in the Spanish population. Results from the Pain Barometer” (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejp.4705) has been published in the European Journal of Pain. This work, developed within the framework of the 2022 Chronic Pain Barometer in Spain, is the result of collaboration between the Pain Observatory and the Grünenthal Foundation. It analyzes the impact of chronic pain at a national level in a representative sample of 7058 Spanish adults.
The main objective of the article is to update the prevalence data of Chronic Pain in Spain, using the same definition as in the previous 2015 study also conducted by the Pain Observatory group. Additionally, it aims to understand the impact of pain on daily activities, mental health, and quality of life. Finally, as secondary objectives, the work includes analyzing the clinical and epidemiological differences between three groups of subjects: subjects with chronic pain, subjects with continuous non-chronic pain, and subjects without pain, as these differences were not analyzed in previous studies.
Among the results obtained, it stands out that the prevalence of chronic pain was 25.9% and that of continuous non-chronic pain was 7.7%. Women had a higher prevalence of both chronic pain (30.5% vs. 21.3%) and continuous non-chronic pain (8.8% vs. 6.6%), with chronic pain being more common in the 55 to 75 age group (30.6%) and continuous non-chronic pain in the 18 to 34 age group (11.2%).
Regarding the characteristics of the pain, the median duration of chronic pain was 4 years, the lumbar area was the most frequent pain location (58.1%), and it is noteworthy that 27.1% of respondents with chronic pain did not know the cause.
Regarding the differences between the three groups analyzed, it is notable that subjects with chronic pain have a higher frequency of limitations in daily activities, more anxiety and depression, and a lower quality of life.
The study concludes that chronic pain affects one in four Spaniards and has significant consequences on daily activities, physical and mental health, and the quality of life of those who suffer from it. There are differences according to sex and age in its frequency, and there is a high percentage of subjects with chronic pain of unidentified cause who need special attention. On the other hand, identifying subjects with continuous non-chronic pain is essential to prevent their pain from becoming chronic.
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