Prevalence of chronic pain with neuropathic characteristics: a randomized telephone survey among medical center patients in Kuwait

Abstract

BackgroundChronic pain with neuropathic characteristics is considered to be an international health problem. However, surveys on the actual incidence of neuropathic pain have not been conducted in many Middle East countries, including Kuwait. The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of pain and medical comorbidities among a random sample of patients treated at a large medical center in Kuwait.MethodsA list of 1,000 patients was created from the hospital medical record system, and a telephone survey was conducted on 759 patients who responded to the phone call, of which 67.2% (N=510) participated. Those who stated that they had pain every day for the past 3 months were invited to answer additional questions about their pain.ResultsFifty-six percentage of those surveyed (N=283) reported experiencing chronic pain. Total average age was 49.2 years (SD=14.5), 45.5% were female, and 70.5% were Kuwaiti nationals. Most (74.3%) reported having diabetes and one-third (32.2%) showed evidence of neuropathic pain characteristics (mean DN4=2.8, SD=1.7). Other comorbid medical conditions were prevalent (48.4% hypertension, 30.4% arthritis, 22.6% heart disease, and 20.4% asthma) with an average of 2.3 (SD=1.3) medical problems per person. Those with pain tended to be older, female, unemployed, and overweight (p<0.01). The pain was mostly located in the lower extremities and those with neuropathic pain tended to report a higher intensity of pain and a higher frequency of seeking treatment for their pain in a clinic or hospital (p<0.05). Most relied on over-the-counter medications for their pain (38.1%). Very few were taking prescription medication for their pain.ConclusionThis survey suggests that chronic pain is more prevalent in a medical population in Kuwait than previously anticipated. Health care services and behavioral interventions to improve lifestyle changes in Kuwait and other Arab countries are needed to positively impact pain and reduce other comorbidities.

The prevalence of chronic pain and its associated factors among Saudi Al-Kharj population; a cross sectional study

“…Wong et al found that chronic illness, increasing age, marital discord, the presence of anxiety and depression and poor quality of life were found to be significantly associated with CP [16]. Likewise, CP was reported more in older, unemployed, and overweight individuals; being highest in the lower extremities of the Kuwaiti individuals [50].…”

A comparison of chronic pain with and without neuropathic characteristics in a Hong Kong Chinese population: An analysis of pain related outcomes and patient help seeking behaviour

“…However, a definite diagnosis of neuropathic pain requires a combination of positive history, physical signs, and confirmatory tests, which is not possible in a population survey [ 1 ]. Furthermore, while telephone surveys on neuropathic pain have been conducted in the past [ 22 , 23 ], assessment of neuropathic pain can be difficult via telephone call. Therefore, it is possible that some individuals with true chronic neuropathic pain were missed.…”

Evaluation of the Arabic version of the Chronic Pain Grade scale: Psychometric properties

“…Although chronic pain presents a considerable disease burden among Arab populations (Mokdad et al, 2014), research among Arab people with chronic pain is lagging behind (Benamer et al, 2010; Deeny et al, 2015). As such, there is a lack of understanding related to the prevalence, causes, and consequences of chronic pain among Arab populations (Elzahaf et al, 2016; Zghoul et al, 2017). Based on the limited data available, reportedly 30% of Arab refugees (Strømme et al, 2020), 46.4% of the Saudi population (Almalki et al, 2019), and 32.45 per 1000 people in Kuwait (Moradi‐Lakeh et al, 2017) experience chronic pain.…”