In today’s era,
chronic pain has become a very common suffering, affecting people of all age
groups across the world.
The present study demonstrated a strong association between chronic pain and obesity/morbid obesity in the South Australian population.
In today’s era, chronic pain has become a very common suffering, affecting people of all age groups across the world. It is particularly rising in the adolescents with incidence between 14-24%. The episodic pain lasting for more than three months is termed as “Chronic pain”. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that more than 1.9 billion adults globally were considered overweight, while 600 million people identified as obese in 2014. The WHO has also stated that obesity is not only a problem in well-established countries, but has greatly impacted low and middle income countries as well. Recent research studies have confirmed the link between obesity and many chronic pain concerns like musculoskeletal dysfunction, headaches and neuropathic pain. Also, some studies have shown that reduction in weight is significantly linked to the pain relief. Recently, a 5-year longitudinal study has verified a connection between fat mass, body mass index (BMI) and possibility of experiencing pain. Fat mass and BMI both were found to be associated with variety of chronic pain, but only BMI was found to be associated with lower back pain. The results are consistent with an 11-year longitudinal study in the elder patients that established the strong connection between obesity, chronic disease, ageing and chronic pain. While the pathophysiology of chronic pain is not clear, many studies have established that patients with both obesity and chronic pain are expected to face disability and effect on their daily activities. However, the mechanisms by which this association is facilitated are complex and variable.
Rationale behind the research:
Objective:
The aim of this study was to examine whether obesity is independently associated with chronic pain that interferes with day-to-day activities in adults, irrespective of their health service contact, controlling for socioeconomic status, and other demographic factors.
Study outcomes:
Self-reported pain: Each respondent was asked, over the last
six months, if he/she had “an episode of pain that has lasted more than three
months”. The following options on a prompt card were given:
Outcomes
Figure 1. Severity of pain impacting day-to-day lives of patients from different age groups
This study demonstrated that obese people
were likely to have two-fold pain that interfered moderately or extremely with day-to-day
activities, having controlled for key socio-demographic factors.
A recently published cross-sectional population study of 2508 people from Germany demonstrated very similar rates of chronic pain interfering with day-to-day activities for an association with obesity. Most population studies in this field highlight trends that chronic pain is more likely to be reported in females, elderly participants and those in lower socioeconomic settings, reflecting these findings from South Australia.
The present study provides supporting
evidence to the growing body of research on the prevalence of chronic pain in
the Australian population associated with obesity. Furthermore, more detailed
assessment of attributes of obesity i.e. waist circumference and calculation of
fat mass/free fat mass may help to further understand the aetiology of this
combination of symptoms. Clinically, given evidence that weight loss can
improve the management of osteoarthritis and its pain, understanding the
genesis of the combination of pain and obesity, and recognizing its presence
early plays a crucial role for all medical practitioners.
Clinically, given evidence that weight loss can improve the
management of osteoarthritis and its pain, understanding the genesis of the
combination of pain and obesity, and recognizing its presence early plays a crucial
role for all medical practitioners.
BMC Public Health (2016) 16:1034
Two colliding epidemics – obesity is independently associated with chronic pain interfering with activities of daily living in adults 18 years and over; a cross-sectional, population-based study
Sharon A. Allen et al.
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