30.7% of American Indian and Alaska Native non-Hispanic adults reported chronic pain in 2023 — the highest of any racial or ethnic group in the national data.
The comparison figures: 11.8% among Asian non-Hispanic adults. 17.1% among Hispanic adults. The gap between the highest and lowest groups is close to threefold.
A second pattern in the same data set gets less attention: chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain both increased as urbanization decreased. Adults in the most rural areas reported more chronic pain than adults in large metropolitan centers.
Neither pattern is explained by biology. Both track things like occupational exposure, physically demanding work, access to care, distance from specialists, insurance coverage, and cumulative stress.
Which is the useful thing about population data: it makes visible that pain is not distributed by chance, and it points at where to look for causes that are not inside the body.
What we study:
- Pain and Aging
- Chronic Pain Risk Factors
- Pain and the Brain
- Musculoskeletal Pain
- Pain and Exercise
- Non-Medical Treatment of Pain
Prefer to talk to a person? Call 352-273-5967 or email PRICE-CTSI@ufl.edu.
UF Study ID IRB201400126
References
- Lucas JW, Sohi I. Chronic Pain and High-impact Chronic Pain in U.S. Adults, 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 518. National Center for Health Statistics; November 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db518.htm