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Abstract
Background
Chronic pain with neuropathic characteristics is considered to be an international health problem. However, surveys on the actual incidence of neuropathic pain have not been conducted in many Middle East countries, including Kuwait. The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of pain and medical comorbidities among a random sample of patients treated at a large medical center in Kuwait.
Methods
A list of 1,000 patients was created from the hospital medical record system, and a telephone survey was conducted on 759 patients who responded to the phone call, of which 67.2% (N=510) participated. Those who stated that they had pain every day for the past 3 months were invited to answer additional questions about their pain.
Results
Fifty-six percentage of those surveyed (N=283) reported experiencing chronic pain. Total average age was 49.2 years (SD=14.5), 45.5% were female, and 70.5% were Kuwaiti nationals. Most (74.3%) reported having diabetes and one-third (32.2%) showed evidence of neuropathic pain characteristics (mean DN4=2.8, SD=1.7). Other comorbid medical conditions were prevalent (48.4% hypertension, 30.4% arthritis, 22.6% heart disease, and 20.4% asthma) with an average of 2.3 (SD=1.3) medical problems per person. Those with pain tended to be older, female, unemployed, and overweight (p<0.01). The pain was mostly located in the lower extremities and those with neuropathic pain tended to report a higher intensity of pain and a higher frequency of seeking treatment for their pain in a clinic or hospital (p<0.05). Most relied on over-the-counter medications for their pain (38.1%). Very few were taking prescription medication for their pain.
Conclusion
This survey suggests that chronic pain is more prevalent in a medical population in Kuwait than previously anticipated. Health care services and behavioral interventions to improve lifestyle changes in Kuwait and other Arab countries are needed to positively impact pain and reduce other comorbidities.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to recognize Hidaya Abdalla, who completed the surveys for this study, and Mohammed Issa and Salman Alharbi for their assistance with the study design. Thanks are also extended to the Information Technology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute for their assistance in setting up the call recording system. A portion of this study was presented at the 35th Annual Meeting of the American Pain Society in May 12, 2016, and the abstract was published in the Journal of Pain Research, April 2016, Volume 17, Issue 4, Supplement page S11. Also a portion of this study was presented at the 16th World Congress on Pain, September 27, 2016; Yokohama, Japan.. This study was funded by a grant through the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science and the Dasman Diabetes Institute (RA 2014-039).
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.