Influence of personality characteristics of pain patients: Implications for causality in pain

Today, pain is still a very pervasive medical problem and is associated with the following statistics: It accounts for over 80% of all physician visits; it affects over 50 million Americans; each year, an estimated 176,850 patients seek treatment in pain centers in the United States alone; and there is a cost of over $70 billion annually in health care and lost productivity (such cost includes lost earnings, decreased productivity, and increased health care utilization expenses and disability benefits). Moreover, based on interviews with over 197,000 individuals assessed in the National Health Interview Survey conducted in 1998, Pleis and Coles (1998) estimated that in the 3-month period prior to the survey, 28% of the adult population in the United States had experienced pain in the lower back, 16% had migraine or severe headaches, 15% had experienced pain in the neck region, and 4% had pain in the face or jaw area. In addition, overall, 32% of the sample reported limitations that affected their ability to walk a quarter of a mile, stand for 2 hours, reach over their heads, use their fingers to grasp small objects, or lift or carry 10-pound items. It should also be noted that in addition to these enormous socioeconomic costs to society, there is a great deal of emotional suffering experienced by patients with pain.