Objectives: We examined the association between pain-related activity difficulty (PRAD) in the past 30 days and health-related quality of life, health behaviors, disability indices, and major health impairments in the general US population.
Methods: We obtained data from 18 states in the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing, cross-sectional, state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of noninstitutionalized adults aged 18 years or older.
Results: Nearly one quarter of people in the 18 states and the District of Columbia reported at least 1 day of PRAD in the past 30 days. PRAD was associated with obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, impaired general health, infrequent vitality, and frequent occurrences of physical distress, mental distress, depressive symptoms, sleep insufficiency, and anxiety symptoms. Moreover, a general dose-response relationship was noted between increased days of PRAD and increased prevalence of impaired health-related quality of life, disability indices, and health risk behaviors.
Conclusion: Pain negatively influences various domains of health, not only among clinical populations, but also in the general community, suggesting a critical need for the dissemination of targeted interventions to enhance recognition and treatment of pain among adult community-dwellers.