Alshami AM. Prevalence of Pain and Its Relationship with Age and Sex among Patients in Saudi Arabia.
J Clin Med 2023;
13:133. [PMID:
38202140 PMCID:
PMC10779872 DOI:
10.3390/jcm13010133]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Studies investigating the prevalence of patients with pain referred for physical therapy in Saudi Arabia are scarce. This study aimed to estimate the period prevalence of pain that led to referrals for physical therapy and to evaluate the association between pain and patient age and sex.
METHODS
This retrospective study used data from the electronic health record system of a hospital for adult patients referred for physical therapy.
RESULTS
In total, 7426 (26.0%) patients (mean (±SD) age, 51.4 ± 15.0 years) experienced pain, the majority of whom were female (65.8%). The back (30.7%) was the most commonly reported pain region, followed by the neck (13.2%), shoulders (12.1%), and knees (11.8%). The referring physician(s) identified pain in a specific body region in 5894 of the 7426 (79.4%) patients. A moderate correlation was found between sex and pain region (Cramer's V = 0.151, p < 0.001) and between age group and pain region (Cramer's V = 0.10, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
Pain was prevalent among adult patients referred for physical therapy and was moderately associated with sex and age. Further research examining the prevalence of pain and its risk factors in a larger, representative sample of the population is warranted.
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