Prevalence and Risk Factor of Neck Pain in Elderly Korean Community Residents

Neck pain is a common musculoskeletal condition, which causes substantial medical cost. In Korea, prevalence of neck pain in community based population, especially in elderly subjects, has scarcely been reported. We evaluated the prevalence, the severity and the risk factors of neck pain in elderly Korean community residents. Data for neck pain were collected for 1,655 subjects from a rural farming community. The point, 6-months and cumulative lifetime prevalence of neck pain was obtained in addition to the measurement of the severity of neck pain. The mean age of the study subjects was 61 yr and 57% were females. The lifetime prevalence of neck pain was 20.8% with women having a higher prevalence. The prevalence did not increase with age, and the majority of individuals had low-intensity/low-disability pain. Subjects with neck pain had a significantly worse SF-12 score in all domains except for mental health. The prevalence of neck pain was significantly associated with female gender, obesity and smoking. This is the first large-scale Korean study estimating the prevalence of neck pain in elderly population. Although the majority of individuals had low-intensity/low-disability pain, subjects with neck pain had a significantly worse SF-12 score indicating that neck pain has significant health impact.

Prevalence of Widespread Pain and Its Influence on Quality of Life: Population Study in Korea

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors for widespread pain and its influence on quality of life in residents of Korean communities. A rural and an urban community were selected, and 5,037 subjects were surveyed. Participants were asked if they had pain, aching, or stiffness in any of their joints on most days. Widespread pain was defined as pain above the waist, below the waist, on both sides of the body and in the axial region. The prevalence of widespread pain was 12% (16.2% and 5.5% in females and males, respectively). It was more frequent among females and increased with age in both genders. Age, female gender, and the presence of hand or knee arthritis were significantly associated with widespread pain after multivariate analysis. Except for mental health, all the items in the SF-12 were adversely affected in the widespread pain group after adjustment for confounding factors. Our findings show that the prevalence of widespread pain among residents of Korean communities is comparable to that reported among Caucasians. The significantly worse quality of life among subjects with widespread pain suggests that it may cause major health issues in the aging population.