Chronic Pain in German General Practice

Chronic Pain in German General Practice

ABSTRACT Introduction.  This study evaluates the prevalence of chronic pain, intensity of pain, activity limitation, and pain‐related diagnoses in German general practices. Methods.  In 40 general practices, up to 50 consecutive patients presenting to general practitioners (GP) for routine medical c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) Vol. 10; no. 8; pp. 1408 - 1415
Main Authors: Hensler, Stefan, Heinemann, Daniel, Becker, Michael T., Ackermann, Hanns, Wiesemann, Armin, Abholz, Heinz H., Engeser, Peter
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01-11-2009
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living
Activity of Daily Living
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Chronic Disease - epidemiology
Chronic Pain
Comorbidity
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diagnosis, Differential
Family Practice - statistics & numerical data
Female
Germany - epidemiology
Health Status
Humans
Intensity of Pain
Male
Middle Aged
Mobility Limitation
Musculoskeletal Diseases - epidemiology
Musculoskeletal Diseases - physiopathology
Pain Measurement - methods
Pain, Intractable - diagnosis
Pain, Intractable - epidemiology
Pain, Intractable - physiopathology
Prevalence
Primary Care
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors
Young Adult
Germany
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Summary:ABSTRACT Introduction.  This study evaluates the prevalence of chronic pain, intensity of pain, activity limitation, and pain‐related diagnoses in German general practices. Methods.  In 40 general practices, up to 50 consecutive patients presenting to general practitioners (GP) for routine medical consultation were questioned, and those reporting pain that lasted for more than 3 months received a questionnaire referring to intensity of pain and activity limitations. GPs received a questionnaire asking about the duration of treatment and diagnoses. Results.  Three hundred forty‐six out of 1,860 questioned patients suffered from pain that lasted for more than 3 months (a point prevalence of 18.4% [95% confidence interval 16.7–20.3]). The average degree of pain equaled 5 out of 10 points on a numerical grading scale (NRS); the average degree of activity limitation was 4.8 out of 10. In most cases, the pain was related to musculoskeletal degenerative diseases. Conclusion.  Chronic pain patients constitute a considerable share of workload in general practice.
Bibliography:istex:42C9C4895B892E3066BCD4B0A1012EE1819F7001
ark:/67375/WNG-X178K4RS-K
ArticleID:PME735
Original Research Article
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1526-2375
1526-4637
DOI:10.1111/j.1526-4637.2009.00735.x