title: Prevalence and characteristics of chronic body pain in China: a national study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chinese citizens regularly experience some form of bodily pain, yet little is known regarding the epidemiology of pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a nationally representative sample cross sectional study to estimate the prevalence of pain and identify risk factors of pain among 19,665 community residents aged 18-65 years in China. The China Sub-optimal Health Survey (CSHS) data was used to estimate pain prevalence. Body pain was also estimated by self-reports from the sample population. A logistical regression model was applied to estimate the odds ratio and 95 % CIs of acute pain and chronic pain to explore the potential risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women had a higher prevalence of pain than men (39.92 vs. 32.17 % for chronic pain). The prevalence of pain increased with age (29.72 % for ages 18-25 vs. 42.23 % for ages 45-65). The most common complaints were head, neck/shoulder, and waist/back pain. Females (OR 1.57, 95 % CI 1.44-1.71) ages 25 or older (25-45: OR 1.19, 95 % CI 1.04-1.36; 45-65: OR 1.47, 95 % CI 1.26-1.73) were more likely to report having chronic pain. Subjects' living areas, and their drinking status (OR 1.32, 95 % CI 1.13-1.53) or smoking status (OR 1.01, 95 % CI 0.91-1.11), were also factors that were significantly associated with increased reporting of chronic pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women had a higher prevalence of chronic pain than men, although both sexes had a high prevalence for chronic pain. There were significant differences between the two sexes and the location of chronic pain in the body, most notably in the shoulders, stomach, abdomen, and waist.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, 241002 China.
authors.forename: Beifeng
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: University of California Davis Health System, Sacramento, CA 95817 USA.
authors.forename: Linlin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Business, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR USA.
authors.forename: Connor
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.affiliation: School of Food Science, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan, 528458 China.
authors.forename: Yongqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112 USA.
authors.forename: Gholam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Infocast Company, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province 215123 China ; Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70112 USA.
authors.forename: Tan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005 China.
authors.forename: Guangliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: School of Food Science, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Zhongshan, 528458 China ; Tulane University, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70112 USA.
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
keywords: China; Pain; Prevalence