Epidemiology of Neuropathic Pain

Abstract

Epidemiology is an essential clinical tool in designing and evaluating management and prevention strategies, and is particularly relevant to neuropathic pain. Despite its relevance to neuropathic pain however, there is a paucity of accurate information on its prevalence, distribution and determinants, for several reasons. In many ways, it is appropriate to study neuropathic pain merely as a symptom or a pain mechanism rather than a specific disease. However, the different causes display sufficient similarities in their clinical and personal impact, and in their response to treatment, to make it worthwhile to consider neuropathic pain as a distinct condition. There are, however, important specific disease-based factors that need to be considered separately. Older estimates of the prevalence of neuropathic pain (based on specific diagnoses) tend to be lower (1–2%) than newer estimates that are based on questionnaires examining classic symptoms (6–8%). Further methodological research is needed to clarify these. Associated poor general health is a feature of all neuropathic pain, similar to other severe chronic diseases.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors are in receipt of an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer UK Ltd for a study on the epidemiology of refractory neuropathic pain. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or personal financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.