Chronic pain affects one in three
6 January 2010
Research finds that chronic pain, which is defined as pain that lasts for 3 months or longer, affects over one third of Irish people.
The finding is part of the preliminary results of the PRIME Study (Prevalence, Impact and Cost of Chronic Pain in Ireland), which is led by NUI Galway and jointly funded by the HRB and HSE.
The PRIME team found that among 1,200 randomly selected adults, a significant 35.5% were suffering from chronic pain.
Principal Investigator of the study, Co-Director of the Centre for Pain Research and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at NUI Galway, Dr Brian McGuire said:
'One in three people in our study reported having chronic pain for an average of seven years – many of these people reported significant suffering, disability and reduced quality of life. In some ways, it could be regarded as a ‘silent epidemic'.
The research found that pain did increase with age with;
- 28.2% reporting pain in the 18-34 age group, and
- 50% of those aged 65 and over.
The most common sources of pain were,
- the lower back (47.2%)
- the knee (30.4%)
- the neck (29.7%)
- the shoulder (27.3%)
However, many respondents had pain in multiple areas. Dr McGuire also flagged the cost to society of chronic pain:
'The high level of disability associated with chronic pain is costing the health system and society as a whole in Ireland. There is also a high level of psychological suffering, while some people cope very well and manage their pain, others really struggle to cope with it'.
The study has also gathered data regarding the cost of chronic pain and this report will be available shortly – preliminary analysis points to a very significant cost to individuals and to the health system. The research team is also following up with participants to determine how many people still have pain one year later.
Further information is available from the NUI Galway website at the the link below.
