New data from the National Institutes of Health found that new cases of chronic pain are being reported at higher rates than diabetes, depression and high blood pressure.

The research, based on data from an annual survey form the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, surveyed adults on how often they experienced pain in the previous three months. In the survey, chronic pain was defined as having pain on most days or every day over that three-month period. The results were then compared to the responses of more than 10,000 respondents in 2019 and 2020. Researchers then worked to determine the rate of new cases that developed over that period using a metric called person-years, which took into account the number of people in the study and the amount of time between survey responses.

An analysis of the data found that new chronic pain cases were developing at an alarming rate. Researchers found that there 52 new cases of chronic pain per 1,000 person-years, which outpaced the rate of new cases of high blood pressure (45 new cases per 1,000 person-years). The chronic pain rate was also far higher than the new case rate of depression and diabetes. The team also noted that of those without any pain in 2019, 6.3 percent reported new chronic pain in 2020.

“What we’re finding is, to nobody’s surprise, we have an astounding problem of pre-existing chronic pain in this country and a huge amount of people who are developing chronic pain as each year goes by,” said Dr. Sean Mackey, chief of pain medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the research.

Concerning Data On Chronic Pain

High blood pressure is still more prevalent, but chronic pain is closing the gap as new cases outpace hypertension. Data shows that around 48 percent of adults had high blood pressure between 2017 and 2020, while 21 percent of the more than 10,000 surveyed adults reported chronic pain. That outpaces the 19 percent of U.S. adults with depression, and the rates of diabetes, heart disease and asthma, which all sit under 10 percent.

So while high blood pressure may still be a greater threat to the nation as a whole, the findings on chronic pain should be eye opening on a national level. It is great to see that this study is getting attention from large outlets like The New York Times, USA Today and NBC News, but covering the issue is only part of the puzzle. We also need to commit a lot more funding to treatment-focused studies. Understanding that chronic pain is a problem is helpful, but now that the national burden is under the spotlight, we need to put resources towards improving our understanding of how to best treat this highly individualized condition.

Another silver lining to take away from this study is the knowledge that if you are suffering from chronic pain, you certainly aren’t alone. More new cases are being diagnosed than many other serious conditions, and while that’s not great news in and of itself, it does mean that it should be easier to connect with others and with doctors who are familiar with your plight.

If you have questions about chronic pain or a condition that you’re battling, let us be a resource. Reach out to Dr. Cohn and his team today at (952) 738-4580.