Open AccessPrevalence of Specific Types of Pain Diagnoses in a Sample of United States Adults
Author(s) -
Kelly R. Murphy,
Jing Han,
Sheng Yang,
Syed Mohammed Qasim Hussaini,
Aladine A. Elsamadicy,
Beth Parente,
Jichun Xie,
Promila Pagadala,
Shivanand P. Lad
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
pain physician
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.31
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2150-1149
pISSN - 1533-3159
DOI - 10.36076/ppj.2017.e268
Subject(s) - medicine , medical diagnosis , chronic pain , physical therapy , retrospective cohort study , population , disease , back pain , cohort , multivariate analysis , alternative medicine , pathology , environmental health
Background: Patients with pain conditions place significant demands on health care servicesglobally. Health economists have reported the annual economic cost of pain in the United Statesas high as $635 billion. A common challenge in treating patients suffering from chronic painconditions is accurate diagnosis and treatment.Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the modern-day prevalence of individual typesof pain diagnoses in adults.Study Design: Retrospective analysis of Truven MarketScan® Commercial and MedicareSupplemental database.Setting: United States patient population with pain diagnoses from 2000 to 2012.Methods: Multivariate analysis was used to determine the individual prevalence of specific typesof pain diagnoses over a 13-year period. We grouped the 6,575,999 patients with ICD-9 paindiagnoses into pain groupings.Results: We determined the prevalence of pain groupings as back pain (74.7%), chronic pain(10.4%), complex regional pain syndrome (1.2%), degenerative spine disease (63.6%), limb pain(50.0%), neuritis/radiculitis (52.8%), and post-laminectomy syndrome (14.8%).Limitations: Retrospective and non-randomized study with a patient cohort that is weightedtowards recent years and commercial insurance. Coding discrepancies that are recorded andcollected for patients.Conclusions: The demographic differences and similarities within the subgroups highlight thatpain diagnoses should be considered as separate, but related entities. The present study helpsus to better understand the frequency of specific pain diagnoses, and directs future studies toappropriately focus on pain diagnoses based on prevalence. This will allow increased understandingof the variation in pain diagnoses and prevent over-generalization in studies examining painpatients to more accurately reflect the varied subtypes and their economic impact.Duke University Institutional Review Board Protocol: 00053624Key words: Pain diagnoses, CRPS, neuritis, radiculitis, limb pain, degenerative spine disease,back pain, chronic pain, post-laminectomy pain, prevalence, MarketScan