The costs of chronic pain—Long‐term estimates

Audun Stubhaug; Johan Liseth Hansen; Sara Hallberg; Anders Gustavsson; Anne Elise Eggen; Christopher Sivert Nielsen

doi:10.1002/ejp.2234

journal article Open Access Jan 12, 2024

The costs of chronic pain—Long‐term estimates

Audun Stubhaug

Johan Liseth Hansen

Sara Hallberg Anders Gustavsson Anne Elise Eggen Christopher Sivert Nielsen

European Journal of Pain Vol. 28 No. 6 pp. 960-977 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1002/ejp.2234

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundChronic pain is a condition with severe impact on many aspects of life, including work, functional ability and quality of life, thereby reducing physical, mental and social well‐being. Despite the high prevalence and burden of chronic pain, it has received disproportionally little attention in research and public policy and the societal costs of chronic pain remain largely unknown. This study aimed to describe the long‐term healthcare and work absence costs of individuals with and without self‐identified chronic pain.MethodsThe study population were participants in two Norwegian population health studies (HUNT3 and Tromsø6). Participants were defined as having chronic pain based on a self‐reported answer to a question on chronic pain in the health studies in 2008. Individuals in the study population were linked to four national register databases on healthcare resource use and work absence.ResultsIn our study, 36% (n = 63,782) self‐reported to have chronic pain and the average years of age was 56.6. The accumulated difference in costs between those with and without chronic pain from 2010 to 2016 was €55,003 (CI: 54,414–55,592) per individual. Extrapolating this to the entire population suggests that chronic pain imposes a yearly burden of 4% of GDP. Eighty per cent of the costs were estimated to be productivity loss.ConclusionInsights from this study can provide a greater understanding of the extent of healthcare use and productivity loss by those with chronic pain and serve as an important basis for improvements in rehabilitation and quality of care, and the education of the public on the burden of chronic pain.SignificanceThis was the first study to estimate the economic burden associated with chronic pain in the general population using linked individual‐level administrative data and self‐reported survey answers. We provide calculations showing that annual costs of chronic pain may be as high as €12 billion or 4% of GDP. Findings from this study highlight the need for a greater understanding of the substantial healthcare use and productivity losses among individuals with chronic pain.

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Details

Published: Jan 12, 2024
Vol/Issue: 28(6)
Pages: 960-977
License: View

Authors

A

Audun Stubhaug

Department of Pain Management and Research Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway

J

Johan Liseth Hansen

Quantify Research Stockholm Sweden; Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine University of Oslo Oslo Norway

S

Sara Hallberg

Quantify Research Stockholm Sweden

A

Anders Gustavsson

Quantify Research Stockholm Sweden; Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden

A

Anne Elise Eggen

Department of Community Medicine UiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway

C

Christopher Sivert Nielsen

Department of Pain Management and Research Oslo University Hospital Oslo Norway; Department of Chronic Diseases and Ageing Norwegian Institute of Public Health Oslo Norway

Cite This Article

Audun Stubhaug, Johan Liseth Hansen, Sara Hallberg, et al. (2024). The costs of chronic pain—Long‐term estimates. European Journal of Pain, 28(6), 960-977. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.2234

The costs of chronic pain—Long‐term estimates

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