Chronic pain in New Zealand: a community sample.
OBJECTIVE
The 2010 New Zealand Chronic Pain Survey aimed to gather information from people who experience chronic pain about their pain, mental health, disabilities, and acceptance of pain.


METHODS
In December 2010, surveys were distributed in paper or online to GPs, hospitals, pain clinics asking for people with chronic pain to respond. The survey was open for 6 weeks.


RESULTS
There were 142 responses to the survey. Most people reported more than one cause of their pain, and pain in more than one site. Although respondents reported a wide range of causes of their pain, most people were unsure of the cause, or endorsed injury or arthritis as the cause. The most common site of pain was the lower back, followed by the pelvis and joints. Levels of disability were high. Pain was significantly correlated with depression and anxiety, and negatively correlated with acceptance.


CONCLUSIONS
New Zealanders experience chronic pain stemming from multiple origins, with multiple causes. Consistent with international data, the experience of pain causes high levels of mental health issues and disability, but can be modulated by acceptance. Future studies should examine treatment availability and effectiveness.
Department of Psychological Medicine, 2nd floor Fraser Building, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Cumberland Street, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. nicola.swain@otago.ac.nz.
Nicola
N
Swain
Matthew
M
Johnson
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult