Decoding the mystery of American pain reveals a warning for the future.

There is an expectation that, on average, pain will increase with age, through accumulated injury, physical wear and tear, and an increasing burden of disease. Consistent with that expectation, pain rises with age into old age in other wealthy countries. However, in America today, the elderly report less pain than those in midlife. This is the mystery of American pain. Using multiple datasets and definitions of pain, we show today's midlife Americans have had more pain throughout adulthood than did today's elderly. Disaggregating the cross-section of ages by year of birth and completion of a bachelor's degree, we find, for those with less education, that each successive birth cohort has a higher prevalence of pain at each age-a result not found for those with a bachelor's degree. Thus, the gap in pain between the more and less educated has widened in each successive birth cohort. The increase seen across birth cohorts cannot be explained by changes in occupation or levels of obesity for the less educated, but fits a more general pattern seen in the ongoing erosion of working-class life for those born after 1950. If these patterns continue, pain prevalence will continue to increase for all adults; importantly, tomorrow's elderly will be sicker than today's elderly, with potentially serious implications for healthcare.

Pain prevalence and characteristics in survivors of solid cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The latest systematic review on the prevalence of pain in cancer survivors was published 5 years ago. The current review aims to provide an extended overview on the prevalence of pain, pain mechanisms, pain characteristics, and assessment methods in cancer survivors. METHODS: A systematic research was conducted on 17th of April 2020 using MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane looking at studies from 2014 to 2020. Studies had to report pain prevalence rates in cancer survivors with a solid tumor who finished curative treatment at least 3 months ago. Methodological quality was assessed by two independent reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute quality appraisal tool. Characteristics of the included studies, participants and reported pain prevalence rates were extracted. The reported prevalence rates of the individual studies were pooled within a meta-analysis. Meta-regressions were performed to identify possible determinants of the pooled pain prevalence. RESULTS: After deduplication, 7300 articles were screened, after which 38 were included in the meta-analysis. Risk of bias was rated low in 26 articles and moderate in 12 articles. The pooled pain prevalence was 47% (95%CI 39-55), with a heterogeneity of 98.99%. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis suggests that nearly half of cancer survivors report pain after completing curative treatment at least 3 months ago. However, substantial unexplained heterogeneity warrants cautious interpretation of these results. Meta-regression using cancer type, treatment location, pain measurement, and follow-up time as a covariate could not explain influencing factors explaining the high heterogeneity.

Pain and pain management in children and adolescents receiving hospital care: a cross-sectional study from Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Pain is a common symptom in children receiving hospital care. Adequate pain management in paediatric patients is of the utmost importance. Few studies have investigated children's own experiences of pain during hospitalization. AIM: To describe the prevalence of pain, self-reported pain intensity at rest and during movement, pain management and compliance with pain treatment guidelines in children and adolescents receiving hospital care. Furthermore, to examine self-reported statements about pain relief and how often staff asked about pain. METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional study with descriptive statistics as the data analysis method was conducted at a county hospital in western Sweden. Sixty-nine children/adolescents aged 6-18 years who had experienced pain during their hospital stay were included. A structured, verbally administered questionnaire was used to obtain pain reports. The participants were also asked what they considered alleviated pain and how often they told staff about pain. Patient demographics, prescribed analgesics and documentation of pain rating were obtained from medical records. RESULTS: Fifty children/adolescents (72%) experienced moderate to severe pain in the previous 24 hours. At the time of the interview 36% reported moderate to severe pain at rest and 58% during movement. Seven participants (10%) reported severe pain both at rest and during movement. About one-third were on a regular multimodal analgesic regimen and 28% had used a validated pain rating scale. Thirty children/adolescents (43%) reported that they had experienced procedural pain in addition to their underlying pain condition. Most of the children/adolescents (74%) reported that analgesics provided pain relief. Forty (58%) stated that various non-pharmacological methods were helpful. CONCLUSIONS: Despite evidence-based guidelines, half of the children/adolescents experienced moderate to severe pain, highlighting the need for improvement. Pain levels should be assessed both at rest and during movement. Response to treatment should be evaluated to prevent undertreatment of pain. Compliance with guidelines and professional communication are of the utmost importance for pain management in children/adolescents. Non-pharmacological methods are a valuable part of a pain management strategy. This study shows that it is important to evaluate and improve pain care also outside specialised tertiary clinics.

Pain in Austrian hospitals: evaluation of 1089 in-patients.

BACKGROUND: Despite the existence of internationally consistent guidelines for the management of pain, efficient regional anesthesia techniques, safe pain medications, and organizational structures, e.g., acute pain services, various studies have shown that pain is still common among both surgical and non-surgical in-patients. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate, on a multi-center basis, the point pain prevalence of surgical and non-surgical in-patients. We further analyzed pain intensities, in-hospital pain triggers, pain-related impairments, pain assessments, patient information about pain, and patient satisfaction with pain therapy. This benchmark information should lead to better implementation of pain management strategies and thus improve health care quality. METHODS: We surveyed all adult in-patients in three general hospitals in Austria (general hospital Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, general hospital Villach, general hospital Wolfsberg) on the index day with two standardized questionnaires for both surgical and non-surgical patients. RESULTS: Overall, a pain prevalence of 40.0%, with no statistically significant difference between surgical and non-surgical patients, was shown. Higher pain prevalence in female patients, high pain prevalence in the age group 18-30 years, and highest pain prevalence in the age group over 90 years old was found. Overall pain intensity was relatively low, but unacceptable maximum pain within the preceding 24 h was shown. Different in-hospital pain triggers like patient's care and mobilization were found. Our survey has shown that pain has an impact on personal hygiene, mobilization, mood, sleep, and appetite. However, patients were very satisfied with their pain therapy. CONCLUSION: Medical staff and nurses have to be sensitized to the urgent need to improve pain management strategies.

Prevalence and factors associated with ulcer-related pain in persons with chronic leg ulcers-an explorative study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to explore the prevalence of background pain and identify demographic, clinical and psychosocial factors associated with moderate to severe background pain in persons with leg ulcers. BACKGROUND: All chronic leg ulcers are potentially painful. Research indicates that 80% of persons with chronic leg ulcers experience wound-related background pain. However, studies on factors associated with pain have small samples and findings are inconclusive. DESIGN: Exploratory cross-sectional study. METHOD: This quantitative study recruited persons with chronic leg ulcers (N = 252) from two wound care clinics using consecutive sampling method. Data were obtained through screening interview, clinical examination and questionnaires. Logistic regression with stepwise backwards elimination was used to identify factors associated with moderate to severe background pain. The STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies was used for reporting this study. RESULTS: Background pain was reported by 64% of the participants. Inferential statistical analyses suggest that between 58% and 69% of persons with chronic leg ulcers suffer from this type of pain. Factors associated with moderate to severe pain were older age, female gender, reduced sleep quality and diminished health status. In the final model, reduced sleep quality increased the likelihood of having moderate to severe pain in persons with good health status while not in persons with diminished health status. CONCLUSION: Ulcer-related background pain is common in persons with chronic leg ulcers. Older females reporting insomnia symptoms also had increased risk of moderate to severe ulcer-related background pain. These participants also perceived their health status to be better. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study demonstrates that ulcer-related background pain and associated factors needs more attention in clinical practice. Furthermore, nurses and other healthcare professionals should integrate biopsychosocial strategies to assess and manage ulcer-related background pain.

The oracle study - fibromyalgia, prevalence and severity in the hospital setting in the Pakistani population.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and severity of fibromyalgia in hospital-visiting patients. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan, from July, 2018, to January, 2019, and comprised patients aged 18-75 years of either gender. Demographic information, comorbidities and previous medications were recorded for each patient. The modified American College of Rheumatology preliminary diagnostic criteria 2010-11 for fibromyalgia diagnosis. If diagnosed, the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire was administered to assess its severity. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. RESULTS: Of the 750 hospital-visiting patients, fibromyalgia was diagnosed in 250(33.3%); 190(76%) of them being females (p<0.0001). Comorbidities, age and increased elevated body mass index were significantly associated with fibromyalgia. Severity was not influenced by comorbidities, marital status, education or economic status (p>0.05). Menarche at a later age and menstrual irregularity were associated with fibromyalgia severity (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The hospital-based prevalence of fibromyalgia was found to be high, especially among females.

Benefits of using the Brief Pain Inventory in patients with cancer pain: an intervention study conducted in Swedish hospitals.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of cancer pain is too high. There is a need for improvement of pain management in cancer care. The aim of this study was to explore whether the use of the multidimensional pain assessment questionnaire Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) could improve pain relief in hospitalized patients with cancer. METHODS: A controlled intervention study was performed at two hospitals in western Sweden, 264 patients were included, 132 formed a control group and 132 an intervention group. All participants completed the BPI and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) at baseline. Only the researcher had access to questionnaires from the control group. The completed forms from the intervention group were presented to the patients' care team. A follow-up took place after 2-5 days when patients in both groups rated the scales a second time. RESULTS: In the intervention group, significant differences in all measured items of the BPI were found at follow-up compared with baseline. Symptoms rated with the ESAS also decreased significantly, except shortness of breath. At follow-up, a significant increase in regular use of paracetamol, anti-neuropathic pain drugs and opioids was found, as well as elevated doses of fixed-schedule opioids. In the control group, differences between baseline and follow-up were significant regarding average pain and worst pain over the past 24 h. CONCLUSION: Presenting the patient-reported BPI to the care team helped them to focus on patients' pain, identify pain mechanisms and adjust analgesics accordingly. A possible explanation for the results is changes in the medication prescribed.

An examination of the prevalence of acute pain for hospitalised adult patients: a systematic review.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: Aims of the review were to establish the prevalence of acute pain for adults in hospital, to identify the amount of severe or unacceptable pain reported and to examine the prevalence of acute pain within medical units. BACKGROUND: Acute Pain Services have been established in the United Kingdom (UK) to improve pain management within surgical settings. Acute pain is a common symptom across all hospital settings. However, medical settings have traditionally been considered low risk for acute pain and have therefore not always been included in the provision provided by APS. As a result 82% of APS surveyed in the UK felt that pain management was suboptimal on medical units. DESIGN AND METHOD: This review follows the process of a systematic review. RESULTS: Hospital-wide pain prevalence obtained ranged from 37·7-84%, severe pain prevalence ranged from 9-36%. The papers reviewed were of variable quality and heterogeneous resulting in the wide range of pain prevalence. Higher prevalence of pain was found for surgical patients compared to medical patients, although up to 55% of medical patients' reported pain. CONCLUSION: It is difficult to determine a definite prevalence of pain for adults in hospital due to the variability of the studies examined. However, pain does remain a significant symptom with up to 35% of patients reporting severe pain and approximately 50% of medical patient reported pain. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Awareness of the extent of pain as a problem for patients is the first step to improving practice. This review has demonstrated that there is a need for similar Acute Pain Teams and services for the staff and patients admitted to all areas of the hospital, including medical units to help clinicians assess and treat pain in all areas of a hospital setting.

[Pain in hospital: Assessing the pain situation in Austrian patients]. / Schmerz im Krankenhaus: Erfassung der Schmerzsituation österreichischer Patienten.

BACKGROUND: In a survey of all adult inpatients at the Wilhelminen Hospital in Vienna and the Klagenfurt Clinic on Lake Wörthersee, data on pain prevalence, the most frequent sites of pain, pain intensity, pain type, effect of pain on patients, pain evaluation on the various wards, pain precipitating factors, and patient satisfaction were collected. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All inpatients > 18 years were questioned using a questionnaire developed by the investigators at the Department for Anesthesia, Intensive Care, and Pain Medicine at the Wilhelminen Hospital. RESULTS: A pain prevalence of 45.7% was found at the Wilhelminen Hospital and of 40.8% at the Klagenfurt Clinic. Women reported pain significantly more often than men. No significant difference was found between surgical and conservative treatment wards in terms of pain prevalence. Patients on conservative treatment wards reported significantly higher current pain intensity than those in surgical departments. The most common areas of pain were joints and bones. A score >3 in the ID pain questionnaire was reached by 8.8% (Wilhelminen Hospital) and 4.0% (Klagenfurt Clinic) of participants. Pain influenced mood, mobility, and nighttime sleep, and was intensified by the daily clinical routine. CONCLUSION: Overall, it was demonstrated that the majority of patients at both hospitals were satisfied with the pain management. However, pain management in conservative treatment disciplines must not be neglected. More intense current pain, a worse quality of life, and a trend toward lower patient satisfaction indicate that analgesic treatment in nonsurgical disciplines should be optimized.

Prevalence and characterization of pain in radiation oncology: the PREDORT multicenter cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Pain in cancer patients has enormous impact on their quality-of-life. Radiation therapy (RT) is a cornerstone in cancer treatment. The objective of the PREDORT study is to estimate the prevalence of pain in patients attending at Radiation Oncology (RO) Services. METHODS: A prospective, multicenter study was designed for patients treated at the RO Services of reference hospitals. Patients were seen in their initial Nursing consultation, during which key data was collected, including demographic and comorbidities data, medical history, and oncological and pain characteristics. The study has received approval from the Ethics Committee of Navarra, and all patients signed the Informed Consent. RESULTS: Of the 860 participating patients, 306 reported some type of pain, which implies a prevalence of 35.6%. Of them, 213 identified a cause of oncological origin. The proportion of pain was similar among sexes, but the proportion of non-cancer pain was higher among women (p < 0.05). Regarding pain intensity, the magnitude of breakthrough pain in patients with oncological pain is nearly 1 point greater than in patients with non-oncological pain (7.53 vs 6.81; p = 0.064). Cancer pain is more likely to be limiting of normal life than non-cancer pain (59% versus 38%, p < 0.001). Regarding analgesic treatment, only 60/306 patients (19.6%) were receiving strong opioids. There were 68 patients with pain without any treatment (22.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of pain in cancer patients referred to RO services is 35.6%, with the prevalence of exclusively oncological pain being 24.8%. Understanding and addressing oncological pain is essential to provide comprehensive care to patients.

Pain Prevalence and Management in a General Hospital Through Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveys in 2011 and 2021.

Background: There is great scope for improving the quality of pain management. Although pain prevalence has been investigated in several countries, few studies have comparatively assessed changes in pain prevalence and management over a span of multiple years. Aim: This work was aimed at determining the pain prevalence and evaluating the condition of pain management in a Chinese general hospital in 2021 and comparing them with corresponding data from 10 years ago. Methods: Repeated single-center cross-sectional studies were initiated on June 14th, 2011, and September 2nd, 2021, in the same tertiary grade A Chinese general hospital. The same structured questionnaire was used to collect inpatient data on pain intensity and classification and pain management outcomes. We performed statistical analyses to compare categorical variables to assess changes over time. Results: The sample sizes for the investigations in 2011 and 2021 were 2323 and 4454, respectively. In 2021, 24.34% of patients experienced pain; this percentage was significantly lower than that in 2011. Meanwhile, the prevalence of moderate and severe pain decreased from 14.73% in 2011 to 4.98% in 2021. The other six indicators of pain management outcomes also improved significantly. The percentages of patients using painkillers, opioid analgesics, and multiple analgesics increased from 44.61 to 51.38%, 24.01% to 44.61%, and 6.82% to 14.11%, respectively. Furthermore, the percentages of patients who received pain information and who actively reported pain increased from 27.56% to 96.5% and from 85.54% to 98.71%, respectively. The percentage of patients qualified to accurately use the Numerical Rating Scale increased from 10.5% to 79.98%. Conclusion: The quality and outcomes of pain management improved greatly after the establishment and implementation of the pain management system. Nonetheless, pain of different intensities is common after major surgeries, and it is recommended that hospitals popularize and implement perioperative multimodal analgesia strategies to reduce the incidence of postoperative pain.

Has the COVID-19 outbreak altered the prevalence of low back pain among physiotherapy students?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) among physiotherapy students during the COVID-19 lockdown in the State of Israel. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS: One hundred and sixty four physiotherapy students from all four-year student levels were invited to participate. One hundred and thirty-seven students (83.5%) were recruited in the study with 79 females (57.7%) and 58 males (42.3%). We used a structured anonymous questionnaire that sought standard information on age, height, weight, sports activity and low back pain (LBP) prevalence during three periods. RESULTS: No significant differences were noted in the prevalence of LBP between the lockdown period compared to 12-month period in all four-year levels. More so, our findings showed that LBP prevalence among physiotherapy students was greater during the 12-month period compared to the lifetime period. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that COVID-19 lockdown has no negative impact on the prevalence of LBP among physiotherapy students.

The prevalence and factors associated with acute postoperative pain in elective gynecologic surgical patients at two referral hospitals in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, 2021: a cross-sectional study.

Postoperative pain is an expected and undesirable by-product of all surgical procedures. The provision of effective and safe postoperative pain management should be one of the top priorities of any healthcare, where surgical procedures are carried out. Major abdominal surgical operations require pain management services, regular pain assessment, and timely management of breakthrough pains in the postoperative period. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with acute postoperative pain. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Minilik and Zewditu Referral hospitals from October to December 2021 and chart review and face-to-face interviews were the methods of data collection. The pain was measured at the 2, 12, and 24 h postoperatively through a numerical rating scale, and the pain was categorized as no pain (score=0), mild pain (score 1-3), moderate pain (score 4-6), or severe pain (score 7-10). All independent variables with P less than or equal to 0.2 in the univariable logistic regression were reanalyzed with multivariable logistic regression at 95% CI to determine predictive factors and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In the study period, a total of 368 eligible patients were involved, out of this 11 patients were discharged before 24 h, four patients refuse to participate two incomplete documentation and one patient was ICU admitted, therefore 350 patients were involved with a response rate of 95.1%. Among those patients 73.1% of respondents' experience at least one episodes of moderate to severe postoperative pain within the first 24 h. Preoperative anxiety (AOR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2, 5.1), urban residency (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2, 50), participants who have not formal education (AOR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.3, 4.1), surgical patients without pre-emptive analgesia (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.3, 3.6), abdominal incision greater than 10 cm (AOR: 3.5, 95% CI: 2.1, 7.2), and surgical duration greater than or equal to 60 min (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 3.1) were factors associated with acute postoperative pain following elective gynecologic surgery. Conclusion: In this study, the overall incidence of moderate to severe postoperative pain after gynecologic surgery was unacceptably high, and patients undergoing gynecologic surgical procedures suffer sufficient postoperative pain need of intervention.

Increasing pain prevalence and intensity among middle-aged and older adults: Evidence from the German Ageing Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Pain is a very common chronic condition in late life that is associated with poorer quality of life and greater functional restrictions. Little is known regarding temporal trends in pain prevalence and pain intensity. Therefore, we estimated trends in pain prevalence and intensity over time among German middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: We used two independent samples drawn in different years from the German Ageing Survey, which is a nationwide population-representative study with a cohort-sequential design. Specifically, a sample of individuals aged 40-85 years who were assessed in 2008 (n = 5961) was compared with a sample of individuals with the same age range who were assessed in 2014 (n = 5809). Individuals were asked if and to what extent they had experienced constant or recurrent pain within the past four weeks. χ2 tests and regression analyses were computed. RESULTS: In 2008, about 44% of all individuals reported suffering from at least very mild pain. In 2014, this proportion was higher by about 7%. Controlling for chronological age, gender, education, region of residence (West vs. East Germany), depressive symptoms, chronic diseases, BMI, and physical activity, the difference in pain prevalence and pain intensity between the samples remained statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest an increase in the prevalence and intensity of pain among middle-aged and older German adults between 2008 and 2014, which remained statistically significant when controlling for socio-demographic and health-related indicators. Further research is needed to identify the factors underlying this increasing pain prevalence and pain intensity in order to counteract this negative temporal trend.

Pain Prevalence in two Italian Hospitals. An observational study.

Introduction: Pain is the most common and distressing medical symptom in hospitalized patients in all wards. Pain prevalence among hospitalized patients is an indicator of the quality of health care. Objective: The aim of this study is to describe pain prevalence in two Italian hospitals. Material and method: This is an observational study. It involved hospitalized patients of both sexes, able and unable to self-report. Descriptive analysis and multivariate analysis were applied. Results: A sample of 754 inpatients were included. In Terni Ho-spital (n = 255), pain prevalence was 80.8%. The mean pain severity was 5.2 (sd ± 3.33). At Rome's San Camillo Hospital (n=499), pain prevalence was 46.9%. Acute pain is more prevalent in women (OR= 0.65; CI 95% 0.43-0.99) and increases with age (OR= 0.97; CI 95% 0.96-0.99). Chronic pain is more prevalent in men (OR= 2.34; CI 95% 1.41-3.97) and increases with age (OR= 1.04; CI 95% 1.03-1.06). Discussion and conclusion.: San Camillo Hospital presents data showing reduced pain prevalence, and describing pain even in patients unable to self-report. It is reasonable to believe that pain control by the staff at San Camillo is better, even though both hospitals are equally important regional institutions.

Epidemiology of Pain Among Patients with Solid Metastatic Cancer During the Last Year of Life.

Background: Despite medical advancements, pain is a major source of suffering at the end of life for patients with a solid metastatic cancer. We aimed to assess the trajectory of pain prevalence, severity, interference, and inadequacy of analgesia during the last year of life. Methods: We analysed data from the last year of life of 345 decedents from a prospective cohort study of 600 patients with a solid metastatic cancer in Singapore. Patients were surveyed every 3 months and their pain outcomes (prevalence, severity, and interference) and inadequacy of analgesia were analysed. We used mixed-effects regressions to assess the association of pain outcomes with patients' time from death, demographics, and planned or unplanned hospitalisations. Results: Prevalence of pain was higher in the last 2 months (65%) compared to 11 to 12 months (41%) before death. Pain severity and interference scores (mean ± SD) were also higher in the last month (severity: 2.5±2.6; interference: 2.6±3.0) compared to 12 months before death (severity: 1.4±2.0; interference: 1.4±2.0). At any time during the last year of life, 38% of the patients were prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 11% were prescribed weak-opioids and 29% were prescribed strong opioids. These analgesics were prescribed through either oral, topical or injectable route. Pain outcomes were significantly worse (p-value<0.05) for younger patients, those with higher education, and more financial difficulties, while interference was higher after an unplanned hospitalisation in the last month. Females reported higher pain severity score during their last year of life compared to males. For patients reporting moderate to severe pain, inadequacy of analgesia was lower in the last 2 months (43%) compared to 11 to 12 months before death (83%). Conclusion: Findings highlight the need for greater attention in monitoring and treatment of pain even earlier in the disease trajectory, and increased attention to patients discharged from an unplanned hospitalisation.

Prevalence of chronic pain in a national cohort of patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy: a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: The aim was to investigate the prevalence, characteristics, predictors, and consequences of chronic pain in a national cohort of patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to all Danish LGMD patients (≥18 years of age) registered with the National Rehabilitation Center for Neuromuscular Diseases. RESULTS: Of 209 patients, 121 responded. 44.7% of the patients experienced persistent (daily or constant) chronic pain lasting more than 3 months. 21.0% of patients experienced chronic pain that was not daily. Most pain patients experienced three or more pain problems, primarily in the lower back, neck, shoulders, hips, and legs. Symptoms suggestive of neuropathic pain were sometimes present. Patients with persistent chronic pain reported moderate pain interference with daily activities, greater psychological distress, and lower quality of life compared to patients without pain but did not differ regarding physical functioning. Sex, age, LGMD duration, LGMD type, mechanical ventilation use, mobility, arm function, or performance on activities of daily living did not predict chronic pain. CONCLUSION: Chronic pain is common in patients with LGMD. Chronic pain should be considered an important component of LGMD and addressed in the clinic and rehabilitation setting from a biopsychosocial perspective.Implication for rehabilitationChronic pain is highly prevalent in patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.Health professionals need to systematically ask patients about pain and the influence of pain on everyday life irrespective of LGMD-duration and extent of muscle wastage.Chronic pain and psychological distress need to be addressed in the clinic and rehabilitation setting as an additional disabling component of LGMD and this should be done within a biopsychosocial framework.

Prevalence and Interference of Chronic Pain Among People With Hemophilia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Chronic pain is a common condition among people with hemophilia (PWH), associated with joint deterioration due to repeated joint bleeds. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the prevalence of chronic pain due to haemophilia and to analyze its interference in the lives of patients. A systematic search was performed in May and June 2019 and updated in February 2021, using PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and SciElo. The search included terms related to hemophilia, pain, pain prevalence and pain interference. Studies were included if they reported data referring to hemophilia-related chronic pain among adult males (age ≥18). From 3,258 identified studies, 11 met the inclusion criteria. Three studies used a proposed definition for hemophilia-related chronic pain and 8 used direct questions developed by the authors. For the global samples, prevalence ranged from 17% to 84%. The random-effects meta-analysis including all studies demonstrated a pooled prevalence of chronic pain of 46% (95% Confidence Interval, CI = 34%-58%). Subgroup analysis of samples including all disease severities or including only severe patients revealed a pooled prevalence of 48% (95% CI = 29%-67%) and 53% (95% CI = 38%-69%), respectively. High heterogeneity between studies was observed in all models. Information concerning chronic pain interference was retrieved from 1 study, reporting a mean interference of 3.7 (0-10 numerical rating scale from the Brief Pain Inventory). This systematic review revealed a wide prevalence range of hemophilia-related chronic pain across studies, varying methodologies and sample characteristics. Research in the hemophilia field should clearly distinguish between acute and chronic pain and provide complete characterization of study samples. PERSPECTIVE: Pain is a central issue in the lives of people with hemophilia, posing a significant challenge for healthcare providers. A clear picture of chronic pain due to hemophilia is precluded by high heterogeneity among studies and various definitions used to investigate its prevalence.

Prevalence and Severity of Pain in Cancer Patients in Germany.

Pain is a common symptom in cancer patients, restricts daily life activities and reduces survival time. Identification of sociodemographic, medical and psychological correlates of pain among cancer patients in Germany could help identify subgroups most in need of pain management. In this multicenter, epidemiologic cross-sectional study, we assessed pain prevalence and severity, quality of life (QoL) and psychological distress in a sample of 3,745 cancer patients across all tumor entities. In total, 37.9% patients suffered from cancer-related pain and 56.1% suffered from non-specific pain. Younger, female, less educated and unemployed patients reported pain more frequently and more severe pain (p < 0.001). Pain was associated with distress, depression, anxiety, QoL, tumor stage (p < 0.001), and time since diagnosis (p = 0.012). Pain assessment and pain management should be a routine part of cancer treatment and cancer survivorship care plans.

Everyday living with pain - reported by patients with multiple myeloma.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence and impact of pain among patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in their everyday life require renewed attention. MM patients' survival has increased considerably over the last decades and active disease episodes are interrupted by longer periods with disease inactivity. The aim with this study is to explore pain intensity and pain interference with daily activities during periods of stable or inactive MM disease. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study from September 2017 to May 2019, self-reliant MM patients in stable disease filled a comprehensive selection of validated questionnaires regarding pain, other symptoms and quality of life, which they experienced in their daily living. Patient reported pain intensity and interference with daily activities were analyzed for associations with several clinical and demographic factors and discussed from a total pain perspective. The two outcomes, pain intensity and pain interfering with daily activities, were analyzed in two age groups (<65 years or ≥65 years). RESULTS: Among 92 participants, 80% experienced pain to interfere with their daily activities (equal in both age groups), and 63% reported moderate to severe pain intensity; (75% ≥65 years, and 49% <65 years). Pain intensity was significantly associated with signs of depression (OR 4.0 [95% CI: 1.2-13.9]) and age ≥65 years (OR 3.3 [95% CI: 1.2-9.2]). Pain interfering with daily activities was nearly significantly associated with bone involvement (OR 3.4 [95% CI: 1.0-11.6]) and signs of depression (OR 5.9 [95% CI: 1.0-36.3]). The patients were bothered with many problems in addition to pain; fatigue (91%), bone involvement (74%), signs of depression (41%), signs of anxiety (32%), comorbidity (29%) and uncertainty in relation to employment or pension (25%). Neuropathic pain was more prevalent in the feet (33% [95% CI: 23%, 43%]) compared with pain in the hands (13% [95% CI: 7%, 22%]). CONCLUSIONS: In periods of stable disease, many MM patients continue to live with intense pain interfering with their daily activities. Additional or associated problems are the presence of bone involvement, neuropathic pain, older age, uncertainty in relation to employment or pension, comorbidity, signs of depression, anxiety and fatigue. This highlights the importance of health professionals being receptive to the patients' experience of pain throughout their trajectories, to assess pain systematically and to interpret this experience from a total pain perspective. While pain problems in relation to diagnosing and treating MM is well known, this study brings the message that even during periods of stable or inactive MM disease, the patients experience pain with a moderate to severe intensity, that interferes with their everyday living. The improved survival and the consequential long trajectories make coherence in the pain treatment even more important for the patients, who may see different professionals in different health care settings for different reasons. The patient group requires a coordinated, holistic patient-centered pain treatment throughout the disease trajectory.