Overlap of pain-related and general measures of disability among adults with chronic pain

Purpose: Chronic pain is known to be correlated with disability. We aimed to determine the overlap between a general self-reported measure of disability and a measure of disability due to pain problems among adults with chronic pain. Materials and Methods: We used data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and analyzed respondents with chronic pain in the past 3 months. General disability was defined as being limited in the kind or amount of work one can do due to any physical, mental, or emotional problem. Pain-related disability was defined as pain limiting one's activity on "most days" or "every day." Results: Based on a sample of 6874 respondents with chronic pain, 58% had either kind of disability, including 9% who reported only pain-related, but not general disability; and 27% who reported both types of disability. Respondents reporting only pain-related, but not general disability tended to be younger and had lower rates of obesity, smoking, diabetes, and hypertension than respondents reporting both pain-related and general disability. Discussion: Among people with chronic pain, most people with disability are experiencing limitations related to pain problems. Assessment of disability without addressing pain interference has likely underestimated the disability burden in this population.