Dec. 17, 2024 – Chronic pain is becoming a more common health condition in the U.S., now affecting nearly 1 in 4 adults.
That makes it more prevalent than other high-profile health problems like type 2 diabetes or substance use disorders. New CDC data shows that 24% of adults said in a survey that they had pain most days or every day during the past three months. In 2019, just 20% of people said they had chronic pain.
Chronic pain typically stems from another health problem, although sometimes the reason can remain unknown. One of the most common causes is osteoarthritis, which is when joint cartilage breaks down and stiffness can result, usually in the hands, knees, hips, or back. Pain reported in the low back is quite common. Other conditions that may contribute to chronic pain are rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, carpal tunnel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Sometimes the pain stems from an injury or a prior surgery, inflammation, or a dysfunction in the nervous system (then it’s called “neuropathic pain”).
Nearly 9% of people surveyed said they have chronic pain so severe that it limits life or work activities most days or every day. That’s also an increase from 2019 rates, when just over 7% of adults said they had what experts call “high-impact chronic pain.”
Certain groups of people had a higher likelihood of being affected, including women, Alaska Native people, and American Indian people. The likelihood of reporting chronic pain increased with age. By age group, chronic pain affected:
- 12% of people ages 18 to 29
- 18% of people ages 30 to 44
- 29% of people ages 45 to 64
- 36% of people ages 65 and older
The information was gathered as part of the National Center for Health Statistics’ National Health Interview Survey in 2023. The data is important because high-impact chronic pain is particularly a flag for other health problems. People are more likely to go to the doctor to discuss pain than they may be to bring up other health topics.
“Chronic pain and pain that often restricts life or work activities, referred to in this report as high-impact chronic pain, are the most common reasons adults seek medical care, and are associated with decreased quality of life, opioid misuse, increased anxiety and depression, and unmet mental health needs,” the CDC report authors wrote.
