Survey of chronic pain in Europe: Prevalence, impact on daily life, and treatment

Abstract

Chronic pain of moderate to severe intensity occurs in 19% of adult Europeans, seriously affecting the quality of their social and working lives. Very few were managed by pain specialists and nearly half received inadequate pain management. Although differences were observed between the 16 countries, we have documented that chronic pain is a major health care problem in Europe that needs to be taken more seriously.

Life satisfaction in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and its predictors

“…No reminder was sent. The response rate was 42% (n = 506), which is in line with that reported by other research using this method [24]. Women were overrepresented in the response group (58%, against 52% for the whole population of Utrecht, according to figures provided by the municipal authorities), but their age distribution did not differ from that of the total city population.…”

Increased hyperpolarized [1‐13C] lactate production in a model of joint inflammation is not accompanied by tissue acidosis as assessed using hyperpolarized 13C‐labelled bicarbonate

“…Arthritis underlies about 40% of cases of chronic pain,1 and understanding the cause of this pain is essential in developing new analgesics. During inflammation, sensory neurones innervating joints become sensitized,2, 3, 4, 5 which contributes to the tenderness of arthritic joints 6, 7.…”

Multimodale Schmerztherapie

“…Eine Datenerhebung für Europa ergab für Deutschland, dass etwa 11 Mio. Menschen unter chronischen Schmerzen leiden [3]. Meist bestanden die Schmerzen schon län-ger, bei jedem fünften Patienten mehr als 20 Jahre.…”

“…Nur 2% der betroffenen Patienten wurden von Ärzten betreut, die sich auf dem Gebiet der Schmerztherapie spezialisiert hatten. Die Schmerzen führ-ten beim überwiegenden Teil der befragten Patienten zu erheblichen Einschrän-kungen der Aktivitäten des täglichen Lebens, teilweise mit Auswirkungen auf die Arbeitsfähigkeit [3].…”