Data show 24.3% of U.S. adults had chronic pain in past three months in 2023

In 2023, 24.3 percent of U.S. adults had chronic pain in the previous three months, according to a November data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Jacqueline W. Lucas, M.P.H., and Inderbir Sohi, M.S.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, used data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey to provide updated percentages of adults who experienced chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain in the previous three months.

The researchers found that 24.3 percent of adults had chronic pain and 8.5 percent of adults had chronic pain that frequently limited life or work activities (high-impact chronic pain) in the previous three months in 2023.

With age, both chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain increased. The likelihood of having chronic pain was significantly higher for American Indian and Alaska Native non-Hispanic adults versus Asian non-Hispanic and Hispanic adults (30.7 percent versus 11.8 and 17.1 percent, respectively). With decreasing urbanization level, there was an increase seen in the percentage of adults with chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain.

“Women were more likely than men to experience chronic pain,” the authors write. “Chronic pain was also generally higher in American Indian and Alaska Native adults and those aged 65 and older. Similarly, high-impact chronic pain was higher in women, American Indian and Alaska Native adults, and those aged 65 and older.”

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