Prevalence and comorbidity of chronic pain in the German general population

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to evaluate 1) the prevalence of chronic and neuropathic pain features (NeP); 2) their comorbidities with psychiatric disorders and organic diseases; and 3) their impact on daily life and health care utilization. A random sample of 3011 participants (≥15 years), representative of Germany, was interviewed by telephone. Chronic pain duration was set at three months. Neuropathy, frequency, severity, duration, impacts on functioning, and health care utilizations were investigated. Psychiatric disorders were assessed using DSM-IV-TR criteria. ICD-10 was used for organic diseases. Overall, 26.8% (95% confidence interval: 25.2–28.4%) of the sample reported having pain; 1.9% had acute pain (i.e., lasting less than three months), setting the prevalence of chronic pain at 24.9%. More precisely, 18.4% of the sample had non-neuropathic chronic pain (non-NeP) and 6.5% had NeP features. NeP presented several differences from non-NeP: individuals NeP features reported higher pain severity and higher interference of pain in daily activities compared to the non-NeP group. Individuals suffering from a major depressive disorder were three times more likely to have non-NeP and six times more likely to have NeP features. Individuals with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cerebrovascular diseases, diseases of the nervous system, and diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs were at higher risk of having NeP but not non-NeP. These differences in prevalence and comorbidities between non-NeP and NeP features show how important it is to regard these different modalities of pain separately. Participants with NeP features suffer more and have greater impairment in their daily life than those with non-NeP.