QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Percentage* of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Reporting a Lot of Pain,† Among Those Who Report Pain on at Least Some Days in the Past 3 Months,§ by Poverty Status¶ and Frequency of Pain — National Health Interview Survey, 2016–2017**

Weekly / May 17, 2019 / 68(19);450

The figure is a bar chart showing that during 2016–2017, among those reporting pain, the percentage of adults ≥18 years who experienced a lot of pain on some days in the last 3 months increased with family income, from 28.6% among those with income <200% of the poverty threshold to 55.9% among those with income ≥400% of the poverty threshold. In contrast, the percentage reporting a lot of pain on most or every day decreased with increasing family income, from 71.4% among those at the lowest income level to 44.1% among those at the highest income level.

* With 95% confidence intervals indicated with error bars. Estimates are age-adjusted to the year 2000 standard population using three age groups: 18–44 years, 45–64 years, and ≥65 years.

† Based on responses to the question “Thinking about the last time you had pain, how much pain did you have? Would you say a little, a lot, or somewhere in between?” Approximately 12.2% of those with incomes <200% of the poverty threshold, 13.2% of those with incomes 200%–400% of the poverty threshold, and 14.8% of those with incomes >400% of the poverty threshold reported never having pain in the last 3 months.”

§ Based on responses to the question “In the past 3 months, how often did you have pain? Would you say never, some days, most days, or every day?” Response categories “most days” and “every day” were combined. Unknowns were not included in the denominators when calculating percentages.

¶ Family income groups were defined based on family income as a percentage of the federal poverty threshold. Poverty thresholds, which are published by the U.S. Census Bureau, vary by family size and the number of children in the family. Family income was imputed when missing using multiple imputation methodology.

** Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the noninstitutionalized U.S. civilian population aged ≥18 years and are derived from the National Health Interview Survey Functioning and Disability component.