585: Prevalence and Impact of Chronic Pain among Minority Ethnic Groups in the United Kingdom

Topic: Education, Societal Impact, and Others
Subtopic: Epidemiology

Background and Aims: Approximately 43% of UK adults experience chronic pain (1). Existing literature demonstrates a substantial variability in the reported prevalence of chronic pain among Minority Ethnic populations in the UK, with estimates ranging from 34% to 72% (2,3). These findings indicate limited precision in prevalence estimates and overlook the possibilities of differences between these populations.

Aim: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and impact of chronic pain among Minority Ethnic groups compared to White ethnic groups in the UK using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from ELSA, a longitudinal study of adults aged ≥50 years (4). ELSA Waves 4, 5 and 6 were selected for analysis based on the availability of chronic pain-related variables. Where individuals appeared in more than one wave, data from the earliest wave were selected. Chronic pain was defined as a positive response to questions on ‘Chronic Moderate/Severe Pain’, ‘Knee Pain’, and ‘Hip Pain’ for more than three months. The associations between ethnicity and chronic pain, and with health-related impacts including functional impairments, were examined using chi-square tests and quantified using logistic regression.

Results: Of 13,173 participants (median age 62), 4% identified as from Minority Ethnic groups. There was no difference in the prevalence of moderate/severe chronic pain between Minority Ethnic and White ethnic groups (25% vs. 25%; p=0.98). Analysis by specific ethnic background was limited by sample size (often <50 individuals). Ethnicity (Minority Ethnic vs. White) was not associated with the prevalence of chronic knee pain (7.4% vs. 8.2%; p =0.89) or hip pain (2.7% vs. 2.9%; p = 0.84). No statistically significant associations were observed between ethnicity and health-related impacts. The odds ratios ranged from 0.92 to 1.58, and all corresponding 95% confidence intervals included 1.0.

Conclusions: This study contributes to a relatively underexplored area by estimating the prevalence and impact of chronic pain among Minority Ethnic groups in the UK. The absence of dedicated chronic pain questions within ELSA limited chronic pain measurement. Only Waves 4, 5 and 6 included a severity-based question recording moderate/severe pain lasting more than three months. The measures used to assess impacts were related to any physical or mental health-related problem rather than chronic pain. These methodological limitations may obscure true ethnic disparities. Future studies should collect more ethnically detailed data and use validated, pain-specific outcome measures in UK population research.

References: 1. Fayaz, A., Croft, P., Langford, R.M., Donaldson, L.J. and Jones, G.T. (2016) Prevalence of chronic pain in the UK: a systematic review and meta-analysis of population studies. BMJ Open. e010364. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010364.
2. Public Health England (2020). Chronic pain in adults 2017: Health Survey for England. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fc8c6b78fa8f547585ed7f3/Chronic_Pain_Report.pdf
3. Choudhury, Y., Bremner, S.A., Ali, A., Eldridge, S., Griffiths, C.J., Hussain, I., Parsons, S., Rahman, A. and Underwood, M. (2013) Prevalence and impact of chronic widespread pain in the Bangladeshi and White populations of Tower Hamlets, East London. Clinical Rheumatology 32 (9), pp. 1375–1382. doi:10.1007/s10067-013-2286-3.
4. English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2024) About ELSA. Available from: https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/about-elsa

Presenting Author: Seba Ghosh
Submitting Author: Seba Ghosh

Senior Author: Jenny Lewis

IASP 2026 Global Year theme of Neuropathic Pain: No

• Mwidimi Ndosi: PhD - School of Health and Social Wellbeing, University of the West of England, Bristol UK
• Jeremy Gauntlett-Gilbert: PhD - Bath National Pain Centre, Royal United Hospital NHS Trust, Bath, UK
• Gareth T Jones: PhD - Aberdeen Centre for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Health (Epidemiology Group), University of Aberdeen, UK
• Jenny Lewis: PhD - Bath National Pain Centre, Royal United Hospital NHS Trust, Bath, UK