• János M Réthelyi, Rita Berghammer, and Mária S Kopp.
• Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
• Pain. 2001 Aug 1; 93 (2): 115-121.

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of pain symptoms causing disabilities in every-day activities and their possible connection to depressive symptomatology. A representative sample of 12640 adults from the Hungarian population participated in a door-to-door survey about demographic variables, pain-associated disability, and depressive symptomatology. The overall prevalence of pain-associated disability was 32.7%, significantly lower in men, showing a significant increasing trend with age. A decreasing tendency in prevalence rates was observed in connection with higher educational and occupational status. Results revealed a 30.2% prevalence of depressive symptomatology among interviewees reporting pain-associated disabilities. The co-prevalence of depressive symptoms revealed a significant increasing trend with age and lower educational level. No significant gender difference was found in the co-occurrence of depressive symptoms. This survey concludes that pain symptoms constitute a substantial public health problem in the Hungarian population in forms of emerging disabilities and depression. Epidemiological studies offer a better understanding of sociodemographic differences in health status, and serve the better allocation of professional and economic resources.

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