RESOURCES:
Pain in General
On prevalence and consequences
100 Million Americans have some form of chronic pain; chronic pain affects more people than heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke combined
Nearly 1 in 4 Americans experience pain every day or nearly every day of their lives.
40 Million Americans report severe pain
22 Million Americans experience high-impact chronic pain, or pain that regularly prevents them from engaging in basic work and life activities
Pain is rising among younger and middle aged Americans
Pain is the chief cause of long-term disability in the US and worldwide
People living with pain are 4 x more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety
People living with pain experience higher suicidality and higher rates of suicide
The US spends upwards of $635 billion per year on pain (in 2011 dollars)
On pain overall
On revised definitions of pain, International Association for the Study of Pain (2020)
On brain imaging of pain, Twilley, Neuroscience of Pain, New Yorker (2018)
On how recorded brainwaves identify neural biomarkers that allow doctors to see their patients’ pain, Shirvalkar, et al., Nature Neuroscience (2023)
On pain policy, Goldberg, Toward Fair and Humane Pain Policy, Hastings Center Report (2020)
On pain stigma, Goldberg, Pain, Objectivity and History: Understanding Pain Stigma, BMJ (2017)
On problems with pain education and research
Many medical students get only 9 hours of training on pain assessment and treatment; 96 % of US and 80% of UK programs entirely lack mandatory pain education (2018)
On why pain education, research and treatment need to be transformed and how to do it, see Darnall, Reducing the Global Burden of Chronic Pain (2019) and To Treat Pain Study People in all their Complexity (2018)