Pain risk varies significantly across states

Date:
July 7, 2023
Source:
University at Buffalo
Summary:
The prevalence of moderate or severe joint pain due to arthritis
varies strikingly across American states, ranging from 6.9% of
the population in Minnesota to 23.1% in West Virginia, according
to a new study.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The prevalence of moderate or severe joint pain due to arthritis varies strikingly across American states, ranging from 6.9% of the population
in Minnesota to 23.1% in West Virginia, according to a new study led by
a University at Buffalo researcher.

The paper published in the journal PAIN is providing new insights --
through its novel combination of individual- and macro-level measures --
into geographic differences in pain and their causes.

"The risk of joint pain is over three times higher in some states
compared to others, with states in the South, especially the lower
Mississippi Valley and southern Appalachia, having particularly high
prevalence of joint pain," says Rui Huang, a sociology PhD student in
the UB College of Arts and Sciences, and the paper's first author. "We
also observed educational disparities in joint pain in all states that
vary substantially in magnitude, even after adjusting for demographic characteristics." The percentage point difference in pain prevalence
between people who did not complete high school versus those who obtained
at least a bachelor's degree is much larger in West Virginia (31.1),
Arkansas (29.7), and Alabama (28.3) than in California (8.8), Nevada
(9.8) and Utah (10.1).

"Education can function as a 'personal firewall' that protects more
highly educated people from undesirable state-level contexts, while
increasing the vulnerability of less educated individuals," says Huang.

Nearly 59 million people in the U.S. have arthritis, and at least
15 million of them experience severe joint pain because of that
condition. Severe joint pain is associated with diminished range of
motion, disability and mortality.

While existing research on the social determinants of pain has relied
primarily on individual-level data, individuals are embedded in social contexts, such as a specific U.S. state.

Different states can have dramatically different policies that affect
many aspects of life including opportunities, resources and social relationships, which can in turn influence individuals' pain, a potential influence that has gone largely unexplored in previous research.

"Very little research has examined the geography of chronic pain, and
virtually none has examined the role of state-level policies in shaping
pain prevalence," says Hanna Grol-Prokopczyk, PhD, UB associate professor
of sociology, and a co- author of the study. "We were excited to identify
state characteristics that reduce residents' risk of pain." The current
study does so by combining data on nearly 408,000 adults (ages 25- 80)
from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System with state-level
data about SNAP programs (formerly known as food stamps), Earned Income
Tax Credits, income inequality, social cohesion (relationship strength
among community members), Medicaid Generosity Scores, and tobacco taxes.

Although SNAP programs exist in all 50 states, some states offer more
expansive benefits to qualifying residents than others. States with more generous SNAP benefits had a lower prevalence of pain. The same was true
for states with greater social cohesion, indicating that both material resources and social functioning play critical roles in shaping pain risk.

"The increase in the generosity of SNAP benefits could potentially
alleviate pain by promoting healthier eating habits and alleviating
the life stress associated with food insecurity," says Huang. "Social
factors such as conflict, isolation and devaluation are also among the
'social threats' that can lead to physical reactions such as inflammation
and immune system changes." In addition to providing new information on
pain disparities across states, the paper might also fuel a reorientation
of pain research that puts equal emphasis on macro- and individual-level factors, according to Huang.

"Chronic pain can -- and should -- be addressed through macro-level
policies, as well as through individual-level interventions," says
Huang. "This study also implies that pain research in general should
move towards a greater understanding of the macro contextual factors
that shape pain and pain inequalities."
* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Pain_Control # Arthritis # Fibromyalgia
o Mind_&_Brain
# Caregiving # PTSD # Spirituality
o Science_&_Society
# STEM_Education # Religion # Resource_Shortage
* RELATED_TERMS
o Arthritis o Rheumatoid_arthritis o Osteoarthritis o Pain o
Joint o Dog_attack o Hip_dysplasia o Wood_Bison

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========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Rui Huang, Yulin Yang, Anna Zajacova, Zachary Zimmer, Yuhang
Li, Hanna
Grol-Prokopczyk. Educational disparities in joint pain within and
across US states: do macro sociopolitical contexts matter? Pain,
2023; DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002945 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230707124648.htm

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