Chronic pain is no more prevalent in people living with HIV than in their uninfected counterparts in South Africa.

Abstract

There are few studies on chronic pain prevalence in people living with HIV, and there are no studies comparing chronic pain prevalence in an HIV-infected group (HIV+) to that found in an uninfected group (HIV-) in the same population. This study was undertaken to (1) estimate the chronic pain prevalence in HIV+ individuals and (2) compare chronic pain prevalence between HIV+ and HIV- groups in a population. Individuals ≥15 years old were recruited using multi-stage probability sampling in the 2016 South African Demographic and Health Survey. In an interview, participants were asked whether they currently had pain or discomfort, and if so, whether that pain or discomfort had persisted for at least 3 months (operational definition of chronic pain). Blood samples were taken from a volunteering sub-sample for HIV testing. A total of 6584 of 12,717 eligible individuals answered the questionnaire and were tested for HIV. Mean age: 39.1 years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 38.3-39.9), per cent female: 55% (95% CI: 52-56) and tested HIV+: 19% (95% CI: 17-20). The prevalence of chronic pain was 19% (95% CI: 16-23) in the HIV+ group, which was similar to that found in the HIV- group (20% [95% CI: 18-22]; odds ratio [adjusted for age, sex, socio-economic status] = 0.93 [95% CI: 0.74-1.17], p-value = 0.549). The prevalence of chronic pain in South Africans living with HIV was approximately 20%, and having HIV was not associated with an increased risk of chronic pain. Using data from a large, national, population-based study in South Africa, I show for the first time that the prevalence of chronic pain in that population did not differ materially between the part of the population that was living with HIV compared with their uninfected counterparts (both approximately 20%). These findings run counter to the dogma that there is a greater risk of having pain in people living with HIV.