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Updated: May 12, 2025
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Author Spotlight: Quantifying Pain Experience – An Illustrative Approach Using the Pain Body Diagram
Published on: July 7, 2023
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Demographic variation in pain across 22 countries
Lucía Macchia1, Chukwuemeka N Okafor2, Thomas Breedlove3
1School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's, University of London, London, UK. lucia.macchia@citystgeorges.ac.uk.
Communications Medicine
|May 5, 2025
Summary
Global pain prevalence varies significantly across countries and demographics. Older age, female gender, and lower education levels are associated with higher pain experiences, highlighting sociocultural pain factors.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Epidemiology
- Global Health
Background:
- Sociocultural aspects of pain are increasingly recognized.
- Global data on pain prevalence across diverse cultures and demographics remain limited.
- Understanding cultural and demographic variations in pain is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate global variations in pain prevalence.
- To examine how pain levels differ across countries and demographic groups.
- To identify key demographic factors associated with pain across cultures.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a large, nationally representative dataset of 202,898 individuals from 22 countries.
- Employed random effects meta-analysis to examine pain proportions.
- Analyzed pain prevalence across demographic variables including age, gender, education, and religious attendance.
Main Results:
- Significant variation in pain prevalence observed across countries, with Egypt, Brazil, Australia, and Turkey reporting higher proportions.
- Older age groups, women, widowed individuals, retired persons, those with lower education, and frequent religious service attendees reported higher pain levels.
- No significant difference in pain prevalence was found based on immigration status.
Conclusions:
- Pain prevalence exhibits substantial cross-national and demographic variation.
- Findings provide foundational insights into the sociocultural determinants of pain.
- Highlights the need for culturally sensitive approaches to pain management and research.
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