Millions of working days lost by chronic pain sufferers

Main Category: Pain / Anesthetics
Article Date: 14 Oct 2003 - 0:00 PDT

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Up to 15 million people a year in Europe consider suicide because of chronic pain, according to a new study.

It costs the European economy more than £24m a year due to nearly 500 million lost working days, with as many as one in five people affected.

The Pain in Europe report, published to coincide with European Week Against Pain, examined the working practices of more than 46,000 people in 16 countries.

It found that as many as 75 million sufferers lived in agonising pain for more than seven years, while a fifth of these endured pain for at least 20 years before obtaining relief.

One in five people had lost his or her job because of the condition while a further 34 per cent admitted that their sex lives were affected.

More than 20 per cent were diagnosed with depression, while 16 per cent revealed that the pain was at times so bad that they wanted to die.

Marit Lovig, a leading member of Norway's Patients' Association, said: 'Doctors and politicians need to listen to what patients are saying.

'We hope economic arguments will convince policy makers that patients are being failed by current provisions to deal with pain.

'More needs to be done to tackle pain head on.'

Professor Harald Breivik, president of the European Federation of National International Associations for the Study of Pain, which organised European Week Against Pain, added: 'Chronic pain isn't just a symptom - it should be regarded as a disease in its own right.

'It is time that training and resourcing for pain management services reflected this.'

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