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The following is a summary of “Chronic pain and obesity in community-dwelling adults: Findings from the national health and nutrition examination survey,” published in the September 2024 issue of Pain by Zhong et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to identify the occurrence of chronic pain and its relationship with obesity.
They analyzed data from 3 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using univariate and multivariate logistic regression to analyze the relationship between chronic pain and obesity. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis in multivariable-adjusted models was used to analyze the nonlinear association between chronic pain and body mass index (BMI), and conducted a subgroup analysis to examine the potential impact of different confounding factors on the relationship between chronic pain and obesity.
The results showed 13,700 participants, revealing a higher prevalence of chronic pain associated with elevated BMI, older age, female gender, lower educational attainment, smoking habits, and other medical conditions. The prevalence of chronic pain among various BMI categories was 17.0% (underweight), 11.8% (normal weight), 12.9% (overweight), and 17.9% (obesity). In the fully adjusted model, obesity was linked to a 45% increase in the risk of chronic pain compared to individuals with normal weight. RCS analyses indicated a nonlinear and J-shaped relationship between BMI and chronic pain (odds ratio 1.45, 95% confidence interval 1.27–1.66, all P values for nonlinearity <0.05). Subgroup analyses demonstrated that osteoporosis significantly affected the association between obesity and chronic pain, as shown by a statistically significant interaction effect (odds ratio 2.25, 95% CI 1.38–3.68, P for interaction =0.019).
Investigators concluded that obesity was associated with a higher risk of chronic pain among US adults.
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