Chronic pain hurts economy, not just patients, survey shows
Chronic pain is a severe drain on the economy, a survey has found.
The Hong Kong Medical Journal found that more than a third of patients treated at out-patient clinics for chronic pain were on welfare.
The survey polled 248 patients who attended out-patient pain management clinics at three hospitals in the New Territories East - the Prince of Wales Hospital, North District Hospital and Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital - between September 1 and December 31 in 2002.
It found that 37 per cent were unemployed and 31 per cent on social welfare, receiving either the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) or the Disability Allowance (DA).
Seventy per cent were middle-aged and 21 per cent over 60. About 34 per cent had work-related pain. Of these, 80 per cent were involved in compensation claims.
The survey suggested the patients' difficulty in finding employment because of chronic pain led to a greater reliance on social welfare.
But the journal said there was not enough data in Hong Kong to quantify the effect of chronic pain on the economy.
In the United States, the economic cost of back pain is estimated at between US$54 billion (HK$420 billion) and $86 billion a year. In Britain, it is estimated to cost US$20 billion a year.
The survey found the most common pain diagnoses are musculoskeletal back pain (46 per cent) and neuropathic pain (28 per cent), while 44 per cent complained about pain in their limbs.
The median length of suffering of those surveyed was two years and four months, with one patient suffering for 26 years.
Oral medication is the most common pain-relief method, followed by physiotherapy and interventional therapy.
More than half of the patients have also tried traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medication and Tui Na massage.
