Economic Costs of Chronic Pain-United States, 2021.

Abstract

Background: Chronic pain affects more than 1 in 5 adults in the United States. Understanding the economic burden of chronic pain can inform interventions and strategies to improve the quality of life for individuals with chronic pain.

Objective: To estimate the economic cost of chronic pain in the United States in 2021.

Research design: A cross-sectional analysis estimating the economic costs of chronic pain in 2021.

Subjects: In 2021, 6445 (representing 65.8 million) adults with chronic pain were identified using ICD-10-CM codes from the nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Measures: Direct medical costs were examined by source of payment and service type. Indirect morbidity costs were estimated from lost productivity from employment disability and missed workdays. We evaluated the economic burden of chronic pain by estimating excess costs among individuals with chronic pain compared with individuals without chronic pain using multivariable regression.

Results: Individuals with chronic pain had additional total annual medical expenditures of $8068 and additional lost productivity of $2923 per person compared with individuals without chronic pain. In 2021, the economic costs of chronic pain in the United States were estimated to be $722.8 billion, including $530.6 billion in medical care costs and $192.2 billion in lost work productivity.

Conclusions: The economic costs of chronic pain are substantial, resulting in excess health care expenditures and lost productivity costs. These findings highlight the importance of interventions and strategies aimed at providing high-quality, accessible, low-barrier, cost-effective pain care to improve quality of life and reduce disruptions in work among adults with chronic pain.