Sexual Identity Differences in Chronic Pain: Results from the 2019 to 2021 National Health Interview Survey

Introduction

Chronic pain has been highlighted as an important public health and clinical health issue. The prevalence of chronic pain has been increasing, with notable disparities for many minoritized populations. However, evidence regarding sexual minoritized populations and chronic pain is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare the prevalence of chronic pain among men and women by sexual identity.

Methods

Data from the 2019 to 2021 National Health Interview Survey (n=78,686), a population-based public health surveillance system were analyzed in 2023–2024. This included 592 lesbian/gay and 952 bisexual women as well as 868 gay and 317 bisexual men. Chronic pain measures included frequency, amount of pain, pain limiting activities, and pain affecting family and others. Covariates included age, race/ethnicity, relationship status, education attainment, income, and employment status.

Results

After adjusting for covariates, significantly (p<0.05) more gay/lesbian (26.7%) and bisexual (31.6%) women reported experiencing chronic pain “most days or everyday” than straight women (21.7%). More bisexual women reported chronic pain as well as negative impacts in their life due to chronic pain than straight women. More bisexual men also reported experiencing chronic pain “most days or everyday” compared to straight men (26.1% versus 19.6%), although no differences were found for other aspects of pain.

Conclusions

Sexual minoritized populations have a greater burden of chronic pain that should be considered in moving forward in pain work. Future work in this area is needed to understand why these disparities exist and how best to provide care and treatment to those affected.