Health Conditions

Who has it?

The National Center for Health Statistic?s 2006 report on pain indicated that approximately 76.2 million Americans (or 25%) suffer from pain. Pain is a more common condition than diabetes, cancer, and heart disease combined, making it one of the most costly health problems in America. Estimated annual costs are close to $100 billion a year. These costs include direct medical expenses, lost income, lost productivity, compensation payments, and legal charges.

Here is more evidence about the prevalence of pain:

• Women are slightly more likely to report pain than men (27.1% vs 24.4%).

• Those with lower incomes are more likely to report pain than those with higher incomes.

• Non-hispanic whites are more likely to report pain than other ethnicities (27.8% vs 15.3% Hispanics and 22.1% African Americans).

• 26 million Americans report frequent back pain, making it the most common type of pain.

• More than 40 million Americans suffer from some form of arthritis pain, and many have chronic pain that limits daily activity. Osteoarthritis affects 15 to 20 million Americans and is by far the most common form of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most crippling form of the disease and affects 8 to 10 million Americans.

• ? An estimated 60 to 80 million Americans experience pain in the form of recurring headaches. For at least half of these people, the problem is severe and sometimes disabling. It can also be costly: headache sufferers make over 8 million visits to doctor's offices each year. Migraine victims alone lose over 157 million workdays because of headache pain.

Back pain, headaches, and arthritis are just three health conditions that commonly cause pain. Numerous other health conditions such as cancer, sickle cell disease, shingles, and stomach or intestinal conditions cause millions of patients to experience acute and chronic pain.