AUTHOR=Ai Zhonghua , Tang Churou , Peng Puxian , Wen Xuan , Tang Songyuan 

TITLE=Prevalence and influencing factors of chronic pain in middle-aged and older adults in China: results of a nationally representative survey

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1110216

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1110216

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Abstract
Background: Chronic pain has become a critical public health problem with the dramatic population aging in China. This article aims at determining associations between chronic pain and multiple factors, including demographic characteristics, health status, and health service utilization of middle-aged and older adults in China. 

Methods: We selected all the 19,829 respondents who were over 45 years old from the China Health and Aging Tracking Survey 2018 (CHARLS) as our study population. The key information in terms of the body pain, demographic characteristics, health status, behaviors and health services use was extracted and analyzed. Logistic regression model was used to determine the influencing factors of chronic pain.

Results: Analysis revealed that 60.02% (9257) of the data from this survey reported physical pain, with pain sites concentrated at the head (40.9%), lower back (62.2%) and knees (47.2%). Pain was positively associated with influencing factors for pain: being a female (OR=2.10, 95% CI 1.90-2.33, p<0.001), living in a western region (OR=1.28, 95% CI 1.16-1.41, p<0.001), living in a rural area (OR=1.14, 95% CI 1.06 -1.23, p<0.001), smoked (OR=1.26, 95% CI 1.14-1.38, p<0.001), drank alcohol (OR=1.16, 95% CI 1.06-1.26, p=0.001), and had poor self-rated health (OR=6.84, 95% CI 5.41-8.65, p<0.001), had hearing problems (OR=1.23, 95% CI 1.11-3.37, p<0.001), were depressed (OR=1.56, 95% CI 1.03-1.29, p<0.001), had arthritis (OR=2.21, 95% CI 2.02-2.41, p<0.001), stomach disorders (OR=1.69, 95% CI 1.55-1.85, p<0.001), visited a Western medical hospital (OR=1.28, 95% CI 1.10 -1.50, p=0.002), and visits to other medical institutions (OR=1.42,95%CI 1.22-1.64,p<0.001). On the other side, as a protective factor for pain, having nighttime sleep greater than or equal to 7 hours (OR=0.74,95%CI 0.68-0.80,p<0.001) was negatively associated with pain.

Conclusion: Chronic pain greatly affects many Chinese senior. Health care providers and policy makers need to focus on pain prevention and management in middle-aged and older adults.