Chronic pain and poor self-rated health

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Chronic pain affects a significant portion of the population in Western societies.
• Self-rated health is a crucial predictor of morbidity and mortality.
• The relationship between chronic pain and self-rated health in the general population requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between chronic pain and self-rated health.
• To determine the impact of chronic pain frequency on self-rated health status.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey of 4542 individuals aged 15-74 in Finland.
• Chronic pain defined as pain lasting at least 3 months, categorized by frequency (weekly, daily).
• Self-rated health assessed using a 5-item questionnaire, classified as good, moderate, or poor.
• Multinomial logistic regression analysis adjusted for covariates including age, sex, education, working status, chronic diseases, and mood.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of chronic pain was 35.1%, with 14.3% experiencing daily pain.
• Moderate self-rated health was reported by 26.6% and poor health by 7.6% of participants.
• Individuals with daily chronic pain had 3.69 times higher odds of moderate self-rated health and 11.82 times higher odds of poor self-rated health compared to those without chronic pain.

Conclusions:

• Chronic pain is independently associated with lower self-rated health in the general population.
• The frequency of chronic pain is directly correlated with the likelihood of reporting poor self-rated health.
• Findings underscore the importance of addressing chronic pain for improving overall population health.