Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, University of New England, 11 Hills Beach Rd., Biddeford, ME, 04005, USA.
College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of New England, Biddeford, ME, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2018 Jun 28;18(1):810. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5673-5.
Chronic pain is currently a significant health problem in the United States. A comprehensive strategy is needed to increase prevention of chronic pain and to improve care for chronic pain patients. However, development of a successful strategy relies, in part, on a better understanding of the demographics and socioeconomics of patients living with chronic pain conditions. The current study was designed to understand the burden of chronic pain in the state of Maine by identifying the prevalence of chronic pain and its relationship with selected demographic and socioeconomic factors in Maine.
The Maine All Payer Claims Database (MEAPCD) (2006-2011) was used in the secondary data analysis to assess the demographic characteristics (such as age, sex, insurance type, and county of residence) of chronic pain patients in Maine. Chronic pain patients were identified based on the presence of pre-identified chronic pain-associated ICD-9 code(s) and opioid prescription information. Potential associations between the prevalence of chronic pain and a number of socioeconomic factors were determined by comparisons to Maine Census data.
More women in the state were identified as having chronic pain across all counties and all age groups (> 10 years old). Surprisingly, the majority of chronic pain patients were identified based on the diagnostic code criteria and not the opioid prescription criteria. A greater utilization of public health insurance was seen within the chronic pain patients. At the county level, although neither education level nor income were associated with the prevalence of chronic pain, these factors significantly correlated with the usage of public health insurance.
Further detailed characterization of the chronic pain patient population in the state of Maine, using multiple data sources, can help design population-targeted strategies to prevent and manage chronic pain.
慢性疼痛目前是美国的一个重大健康问题。需要采取综合策略来增加慢性疼痛的预防，并改善慢性疼痛患者的护理。然而，成功策略的制定部分依赖于更好地了解患有慢性疼痛的患者的人口统计学和社会经济学特征。本研究旨在通过确定慢性疼痛的流行程度及其与缅因州选定人口统计学和社会经济学因素的关系，来了解该州慢性疼痛的负担。
本研究利用缅因州所有支付者索赔数据库（MEAPCD）（2006-2011 年）进行二次数据分析，评估缅因州慢性疼痛患者的人口统计学特征（如年龄、性别、保险类型和居住县）。根据预先确定的慢性疼痛相关 ICD-9 编码和阿片类药物处方信息，确定慢性疼痛患者。通过与缅因州人口普查数据进行比较，确定慢性疼痛的流行率与一些社会经济学因素之间的潜在关联。
全州各年龄段（>10 岁）的女性中患有慢性疼痛的人数都有所增加。令人惊讶的是，大多数慢性疼痛患者是根据诊断代码标准而不是阿片类药物处方标准确定的。慢性疼痛患者中更多地使用了公共医疗保险。在县一级，尽管教育程度和收入与慢性疼痛的流行率均无关联，但这些因素与公共医疗保险的使用显著相关。
使用多个数据源进一步详细描述缅因州慢性疼痛患者人群，可以帮助制定针对人群的策略，以预防和管理慢性疼痛。
