Diagnosis and Treatment of Five Pain-Related Conditions in Urban China: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional National Health and Wellness Survey

BACKGROUND: While there is an extensive body of research regarding pain and its treatment in developed countries, little research on this topic has been performed in developing countries. This study aimed to investigate the diagnosis, treatment, and treatment satisfaction in individuals with pain in urban China using real-world data. METHODS: All respondents from the 2013, 2015, and 2017 China National Health and Wellness Survey were included in the analysis and were classified into diagnosed and undiagnosed groups according to their self-reported physician diagnosis or experience in the past month. The following five categories of pain were analysed: headache, cancer-associated pain, musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain, and fibromyalgia. Rates for diagnosis, treatment, and satisfaction with medication were calculated overall and for each pain type. RESULTS: A total of 3802 respondents reported experience of at least one type of pain in the past month. Among those, 61.2% were diagnosed with a pain-related condition, the majority of which (84.0%) were receiving treatment. For diagnosed respondents taking over-the-counter and/or prescription medication, 70.3% were satisfied with their treatment. Comparing between pain types, the diagnosis rates for cancer-associated pain (32.7%) and fibromyalgia (22.8%) were relatively low, whereas respondents with musculoskeletal pain has the highest diagnosis rate (61.1%). Respondents with cancer-associated pain had the lowest satisfaction (30.0%) with over-the-counter and prescription medication, while respondents with headache (76.2%) had the highest satisfaction rate with such medications. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the importance of raising awareness for pain management as well as education and training for healthcare providers and patients.