title: Epidemiology of neuropathic pain.
abstract: Epidemiology is an essential clinical tool in designing and evaluating management and prevention strategies, and is particularly relevant to neuropathic pain. Despite its relevance to neuropathic pain however, there is a paucity of accurate information on its prevalence, distribution and determinants, for several reasons. In many ways, it is appropriate to study neuropathic pain merely as a symptom or a pain mechanism rather than a specific disease. However, the different causes display sufficient similarities in their clinical and personal impact, and in their response to treatment, to make it worthwhile to consider neuropathic pain as a distinct condition. There are, however, important specific disease-based factors that need to be considered separately. Older estimates of the prevalence of neuropathic pain (based on specific diagnoses) tend to be lower (1-2%) than newer estimates that are based on questionnaires examining classic symptoms (6-8%). Further methodological research is needed to clarify these. Associated poor general health is a feature of all neuropathic pain, similar to other severe chronic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Aberdeen Pain Research Collaboration, Centre of Academic Primary Care, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill Health Centre, Westburn Road, Aberdeen AB25 2AY, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Blair H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Torrance