Chronic pain ‘affects at least one-third of people in UK’

A new study has indicated that a large proportion of people in the UK are living with chronic pain.

The Imperial College London paper collated data from 1,737 relevant studies published after 1990, with 19 studies involving 140,000 adults deemed relevant enough for a systematic review of chronic pain in the UK.

It was found that the prevalence of chronic pain ranged from 35 percent to 51 percent of the country's adult population, resulting in a pooled estimate of 43.5 percent. 14 percent of UK adults were estimated to be living with chronic widespread pain.

Examining specific age groups, the percentage of people experiencing chronic pain was estimated at 14 percent among 18 to 25-year-olds, 30 percent for 18 to 39-year-olds, and 62 percent for people aged 75 and older.

A key reason for this trend is the rising average age of the British population, with one in three children born in the UK in 2012 expected to live to the age of 100.

The study concluded: "Chronic pain affects between one-third and one-half of the population of the UK, corresponding to just under 28 million adults, based on data from the best available published studies. This figure is likely to increase further in line with an ageing population."