Chronic Pain Among Adults — United States, 2019–2021

Summary & key facts

This CDC analysis used the 2019–2021 National Health Interview Survey to estimate how common chronic pain is among U.S. adults. In 2021, about 20.9% of adults (51.6 million people) reported pain on most days or every day for the past three months. About 6.9% (17.1 million people) had high-impact chronic pain, meaning the pain also limited work or life activities most days or every day. The study found higher rates of chronic and high-impact pain in several groups, including American Indian or Alaska Native adults, adults who identify as bisexual, divorced or separated adults, people with low income, and people living in nonmetropolitan areas. The results come from a large national survey and

Key facts:

• In 2021, 20.9% of U.S. adults (an estimated 51.6 million people) reported chronic pain (pain on most days or every day for the past 3 months).
• In 2021, 6.9% of U.S. adults (an estimated 17.1 million people) reported high-impact chronic pain (chronic pain that also limited life or work activities on most days or every day).
• From 2019 to 2021, the prevalence of chronic pain ranged from 20.5% to 21.8%, and high-impact chronic pain ranged from 6.9% to 7.8%.
• Age-adjusted high-impact chronic pain was 12.8% among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) adults, compared with 2.1% among non-Hispanic Asian adults and 6.5% among non-Hispanic White adults.
• Adults identifying as bisexual had an age-adjusted chronic pain prevalence of 32.9%, versus 19.3% among adults identifying as straight and 20.7% among adults identifying as gay or lesbian.
• Adults who were divorced or separated had age-adjusted chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain prevalences of 29.6% and 10.1%, respectively; these rates were nearly double those of married adults (18.2% and 5.2%).
• Adults born in the United States had higher age-adjusted rates of chronic pain (21.6%) and high-impact chronic pain (7.0%) than adults born outside the United States (11.9% and 4.1%, respectively).
• High-impact chronic pain was more common in nonmetropolitan areas (9.2%) than in large central metro areas (5.5%).
• High-impact chronic pain prevalence was about 14.4% among adults with family income below 100% of the federal poverty level, compared with 3.5% among those with family income at or above 400% of the federal poverty level.
• The analysis used NHIS sample adult interviews with sample sizes and response rates: 2019 (n=31,997; response rate 61.1%), 2020 (n=31,568; response rate 48.9%), and 2021 (n=29,482; response rate 50.9%).

Abstract

Chronic pain (i.e., pain lasting ≥3 months) is a debilitating condition that affects daily work and life activities for many adults in the United States and has been linked with depression (1), Alzheimer disease and related dementias (2), higher suicide risk (3), and substance use and misuse (4). During 2016, an estimated 50 million adults in the United States experienced chronic pain, resulting in substantial health care costs and lost productivity (5,6). Addressing chronic pain and improving the lives of persons living with pain is a public health imperative. Population research objectives in the National Pain Strategy, which was released in 2016 by the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee, call for more precise estimates of the prevalence of chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain (i.e., chronic pain that results in substantial restriction to daily activities) in the general population and within various population groups to guide efforts to reduce the impact of chronic pain (3). Further, a 2022 review of U.S. chronic pain surveillance systems identified the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) as the best source for pain surveillance data (7). CDC analyzed data from the 2019-2021 NHIS to provide updated estimates of the prevalence of chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain among adults in the United States and within population groups defined by demographic, geographic, socioeconomic, and health status characteristics. During 2021, an estimated 20.9% of U.S. adults (51.6 million persons) experienced chronic pain, and 6.9% (17.1 million persons) experienced high-impact chronic pain. New findings from this analysis include that non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) adults, adults identifying as bisexual, and adults who are divorced or separated are among the populations experiencing a higher prevalence of chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain. Clinicians, practices, health systems, and payers should vigilantly attend to health inequities and ensure access to appropriate, affordable, diversified, coordinated, and effective pain management care for all persons (8).

Topics

Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Pain Management and Opioid Use

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Pharmacology

Tags

Chronic pain Economic growth Economics Environmental health Gerontology Health care Medicine National Health Interview Survey Nursing Physical therapy Population Public health Socioeconomic status

Conditions & symptoms

Chronic Pain Depression Chronic pain Sadness or low mood