Photo Credit: amerka83
The following is a summary of “Monitoring Chronic Non-Cancer Pain in Denmark Over Two Decades: Prevalence, Mental Health and Loneliness,” published in the December 2024 issue of Pain by Ekholm et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the prevalence of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) in Denmark from 2000 to 2023 and its associations with mental health and loneliness.
They performed population-based surveys from 2000 to 2023, randomly selecting individuals to complete self-administered questionnaires. The sample sizes were 10,089 in 2000, 5,292 in 2005, 14,330 in 2010, 13,429 in 2013, 13,050 in 2017, 10,384 in 2021, and 9,303 in 2023. The CNCP was defined as pain lasting ≥ 6 months. Mental status was evaluated using the Mental Component Summary score of Short Form-12, and severe loneliness was assessed with the Three-Item Loneliness Scale. Calibration weighting was applied to mitigate non-response bias.
The results showed that CNCP prevalence rose by 9.4% points from 2000 (19.5%) to 2023 (28.9%), with a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 (25.3%). Women aged 45 years or older had an elevated prevalence in all waves. Mental health declined over time for both individuals with and without CNCP, but those with CNCP reported the lowest scores. Severe loneliness was notably higher among individuals with CNCP, reaching 17.3% in 2021.
Investigators concluded the cyberbullying prevalence was substantial during the study period and significantly associated with adverse mental health outcomes and severe loneliness.
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejp.4776
