Prevalence of pain among adults in Turkey

Abstract Background: Epidemiological studies suggest that pain is an important public health problem. Aim: To determine prevalence of pain and the characteristics of pain symptoms. Method: A cross-sectional study was performed on the adult population in Turkey. This study was carried out in 15 cities selected from five demographic regions with a questionnaire consisting of 28 questions, and 2994 participants were interviewed with face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed with chi-squared and Fisher exact tests. Results: The prevalence of pain among adults in Turkey was 63.7%. The prevalence increased with age and was higher in females, urban residents, in western and central regions than in males, rural residents and other demographic regions (p < 0.001). The most involved age was 55–65 years. The prevalence of pain in head, lower back, lower extremities and abdomen was 34.4%, 14.1%, 12.0% and 10.9%, respectively.