ABSTRACT
Abstract: The prevalence of chronic pain is well described in various parts of the world; primarily in Western societies such as Europe, America and Australia. Little is known of the prevalence of chronic pain within Asia or Southeast Asia. In view of the cultural and genetic variation in pain causation, manifestation and reporting, the findings of previous studies cannot be translated to Asian countries. Prevalence studies needed to be carried out to quantify the magnitude and impact of chronic pain within Asian countries to properly allocate precious health funds to deal with this important healthcare issue. We report the findings of the prevalence study within one Asian country: Singapore. Objective: To determine the prevalence and impact of chronic pain in adult Singaporeans. Materials and Methods: Two sets of questionnaires were designed. The first, a screening questionnaire, to identify the prevalence of chronic pain, and should there be chronic pain; the second, a detailed questionnaire was administered, to characterise the features and the impact of pain. A cross-sectional sampling of Singapore adults were achieved using a computer-based multi-step random sampling of listed telephones numbers. The questionnaires were administered via telephone by a trained interviewer with the aid of a computer-assisted telephone interview system. Results: A total of 4141 screening and 400 detailed questionnaires were completed. The prevalence of chronic pain, defined as pain of at least 3 months’ duration over the last 6 months was 8.7% (n = 359). There was a higher prevalence in females (10.9%) and with increasing age. In particular, pain prevalence increased steeply beyond the age of 65 years old. There was a significant impact on work and daily function of those with chronic pain. Conclusion: Though the prevalence of chronic pain was marginally lower compared other studies, the impact of pain was just as significant. In a rapidly ageing population such as Singapore, chronic pain is an important emerging healthcare problem which will likely exert increasing toll on the existing social infrastructure within the next 5 to 10 years.
Population studies on pain prevalence are useful in determining the impact that chronic pain has on the society. It draws the attention of healthcare administrators to chronic pain as a problem and direct healthcare spending accordingly. Previous studies performed using variations in definitions and methodology, yielded rates between 10% and 50%.1-15 Despite the variation in prevalence rate, the impact of pain to the individual in terms of function and role participation; and to the society, in particular, the proportion of the workforce affected and healthcare utilisation is significant in all studies.1-15 Almost all these studies were performed in western societies.1-13 Few studies were carried out in Asia due to the lack of funding and huge logistic involved.13,14 Genetic, cultural and demographic influences on prevalence of painful chronic conditions, pain manifestation and pain reporting practices prevent accurate extrapolation of western data to Asian countries. A series of prevalence studies were carried out in various Asian countries to understand the impact of pain in Asia. We report the findings of the pain prevalence study on the adult population in Singapore.
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