Racial and ethnic disparities in pain prevalence within the U.S. are far larger than previously realized, in accordance with the outcomes of a latest study co-written by a University at Buffalo medical sociologist.

The present research represents the primary portrait of U.S. pain prevalence across six major racial and ethnic groups, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. While earlier studies of pain disparities have focused on Black, white and Hispanic groups, the present study also includes Native Americans (American Indians/Alaska Natives), Asian Americans, and the fast-growing “multiracial” category. The study also uses six measures of accelerating severity of pain to check whether the findings are sensitive to a selected definition of pain.

The findings, based on data provided by nearly 274,000 participants and published within the journal Pain, indicate that Native Americans and multiracial Americans have by far the very best pain prevalence, while Asian Americans have the bottom pain prevalence, no matter which specific pain measure is being assessed.

For instance, in comparison with Asian Americans, Native Americans are over 4 times as prone to experience severe pain, and multiracial Americans are over 3 times as likely. Meanwhile, those that self-identify as white, Black or Hispanic have intermediate levels of severe pain. Similar racial/ethnic patterns are observed across other pain measures as well.

The findings on pain prevalence amongst Native Americans, multiracial Americans and Asian Americans substantially expand the limited previous research documenting pain levels for these groups.

“This research identifies the groups which have the very best unmet need for pain prevention and management,” says Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, PhD, associate professor of sociology within the UB College of Arts and Sciences, and co-author of the study, which was led by Anna Zajacova, PhD, professor of sociology at Western University in Canada.

“We also wish to learn from the groups which might be doing well when it comes to pain in an effort to understand why they’re doing well. We would like to discover protective aspects like good health practices, medical care and social support, and conduct further research to find out why these groups usually are not experiencing chronic pain as much as other groups.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which the researchers used for his or her evaluation, estimates that greater than 50 million people reported pain on most days or day-after-day. That is barely greater than 1 out of each 5 American adults, with a price to the economy greater than heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined.

“There may be growing literature showing that pain reflects each physical and mental health,” says Grol-Prokopczyk. “A mixture of things is likely to be at play, some having to do with health behaviors, physical fitness and quality of medical care, but some having to do with social stress, financial stress and other things which might be negatively impacting people’s psychological well-being.”

Yet most research on pain prevalence has focused on comparisons between Black and white people. More limited research attention has been given to Hispanic people, despite being the country’s largest non-white group, representing about 21% of the population. Even less research on pain prevalence has been dedicated to Asian American and Native American adults, while pain amongst multiracial Americans, a population expected to double by 2050 to greater than 20 million people, has never been systematically studied.

The present study uses NHIS data from 2010 -; the primary survey wave to incorporate global pain questions -; to 2018, essentially the most recent yr data were available on the time the paper was being written. A unique group of participants was surveyed annually.

Due to its large sample size, the study was in a position to include a representative sample of more racial and ethnic groups than previous research, which relied on smaller samples.

Our results will be useful for each clinicians and public health researchers, now that we realize that Native Americans and multiracial adults, groups neglected in previous research, have extremely high rates of pain. We recommend further research on this area to assist higher understand the aspects driving pain prevalence.”

Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology, UB College of Arts and Sciences

Source:

Journal reference:

Zajacova, A., et al. (2022) Beyond Black vs White: racial/ethnic disparities in chronic pain including Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and multiracial US adults. Pain. doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002574.