• Miriam N Raftery, Kiran Sarma, Andrew W Murphy, Davida De la Harpe, Charles Normand, and Brian E McGuire.
• School of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland Centre for Pain Research, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland Discipline of General Practice, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland Health Intelligence, Directorate of Quality and Continuing Care, Health Services Executive, Dublin, Ireland Health Policy and Management, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
• Pain. 2011 May 1; 152 (5): 109611031096-1103.

AbstractThe aims of the PRIME study (Prevalence, Impact and Cost of Chronic Pain) were 3-fold: (1) to determine the point prevalence of chronic pain in Ireland; (2) to compare the psychological and physical health profiles of those with and without chronic pain; and (3) to explore a predictive model of pain-related disability. A postal survey of 3136 people was conducted with a representative community-based sample of adults. Measures were obtained for sociodemographic variables, physical and psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, presence of pain, pain severity, pain-related disability, and illness perceptions. Responses were received from 1204 people. The prevalence of chronic pain was 35.5% (95% CI=32.8-38.2) (n=428). No gender difference in prevalence was found. Prevalence of pain increased with age and was associated with manual employment. The most commonly reported site of pain was the lower back (47.6%); however, multiple pain sites was the norm, with more than 80% of participants reporting more than 1 pain site. Approximately 12% of participants were unable to work or were on reduced work hours because of pain. Of those with chronic pain, 15% met the criteria for clinically relevant depression compared with 2.8% of those without pain. A multiple regression analysis, predicting 67% of variance, showed that pain intensity was the strongest predictor of pain-related disability. Depression and illness perceptions were also predictive of pain-related disability, after controlling for the effects of pain intensity. Chronic pain is a prevalent health problem in Ireland and is associated with significant psychological and functional disability. Psychological factors appear to influence the level of pain-related disability.Copyright © 2011 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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