SOURCES – 2024 CHRONIC PAIN FACT SHEET

• More than 51.6 million American adults (21% of the population) live with chronic pain. – https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7215a1.htm

• 17.1 million American adults live with high-impact chronic pain, or pain that frequently limits life or work activities. – https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7215a1.htm 

• Pediatric chronic pain estimates range from 11% to 38% of children under 18. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7888311/

• There are 52.4 new cases of chronic pain per 1,000 people each year—a higher rate than that of several other common health conditions, including diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure. – https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-high-rates-persistent-chronic-pain-among-us-adults

• Pain is the number-one reason Americans access the health care system. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9224345/

• Chronic pain is the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. – https://obssr.od.nih.gov/about/bssr-accomplishments/chronic-pain

• Pain in America costs as much as $635 billion yearly in direct health care costs, lost productivity, and disability payments. – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22607834/ 

• About 83% of people with high-impact chronic pain are unable to work. – https://www.nccih.nih.gov/research/research-results/prevalence-and-profile-of-high-impact-chronic-pain | https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/consequences-of-highimpact-chronic-pain

• As of 2018, 96% of U.S. medical schools did not require students to take courses on pain medicine. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6251835/  

• Studies have shown that minority groups and other marginalized populations are at risk of receiving suboptimal pain management. – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24061868/ 

• American Indians and Alaska Natives, bisexual individuals, rural residents, and people living in poverty are significantly more likely to experience chronic pain. – https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7215a1.htm

• People with chronic pain have at least twice the risk of suicide compared to those without chronic pain. – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16420727/ | https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M18-0830 

• Chronic pain has biopsychosocial implications. It is associated with reduced quality of life, including increased risk of anxiety and depression. – ​​https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4590163/ | https://uspainfoundation.org/surveyreports/a-chronic-pain-crisis/ 

• Individuals with chronic pain receive an average of only 30% pain reduction from their various treatments. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553030/ 

• An estimated 50% to 88% of people with chronic pain have ongoing sleep difficulties. – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10267346/

• The National Institutes of Health dedicates approximately 4% of its funding to chronic pain and pain research (chronic, acute, and acute-to-chronic pain). – https://report.nih.gov/funding/categorical-spending#/ | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10239629/#cit0001