When suffering goes unseen: 10 million Italians live with chronic pain
Most of those affected are women, and 75 per cent have been living with the condition for more than five years, with the group most at risk being those aged between 46 and 60,
Chronic pain is a daily reality for a huge number of people. The figure is said to be 10 million, but some scientific societies put the number at over 13 million. To gain a clearer picture and to obtain some non-statistical data – as the statistical figures are more or less already available – on the lives of those who wake up in the morning in pain or (worse still) have not slept all night, a national survey was carried out by a group of patient organisations, the Pain Alliance, coordinated by HEALTH ENGINE Ets. In practice, 14 organisations representing a wide range of conditions – from rheumatic diseases to lupus, from endometriosis to fibromyalgia, from chronic intestinal diseases to multiple sclerosis – decided to survey their target audience, namely carers and patients, to understand the situation. Over the course of a month, 1,267 people responded, describing their daily lives, their work, their personal relationships and their treatment journeys.
The result is an alarming picture, featuring some previously unpublished data, in a report entitled ‘Living with chronic pain: the invisible burden’. It was already known that the majority of people with chronic pain are women, but it was not known that 75 per cent have been living with it for more than five years, or that the age group most affected is those aged between 46 and 60 – that is, people in the prime of their working lives and at a very active stage of life. For 60 per cent, the pain is constant – that is, it persists day and night – and for 74 per cent, it has altered their sex life and intimacy, a finding that raises serious concerns about the effects on relationships and emotional well-being. The respondents all have a chronic condition that is already problematic; yet (according to the survey) the healthcare system fails to support or manage patients with regard to their chronic pain. Unfortunately, this demonstrates that pain management remains a privilege, not a right.
It is interesting to note that 78 per cent of survey respondents had received a definitive diagnosis, but 57 per cent had never been enrolled in a structured pain management programme; in the majority of cases, there are two reasons for this: no doctor has ever suggested it (51 per cent) or they know nothing about existing programmes (29 per cent). The majority of patients are left to cope with their condition without structured guidance: the result is a fragmented and reactive systemic approach, rather than a strategic one. Only 21 per cent (266 people) are currently enrolled in a structured care programme. For everyone else, a defined care pathway is the exception, not the rule.
If we map pain in this way, it becomes clear that it is a widespread form of suffering. Pain is almost never an isolated experience: on average, each person experiences pain in more than two areas of the body, with the head and neck region being the most common (39 per cent). This multifocal nature exacerbates functional and emotional impairment.
What does all this entail? Certainly physical and mental fatigue (69%), anxiety about the future (59%), lack of sleep and rest (58%), frustration and a sense of helplessness (55%), a reduction in physical activities and hobbies (52%) and a great deal of isolation (49%). When the pain becomes intense, simple tasks become obstacles, such as carrying heavy loads (60 per cent), standing for long periods (49 per cent), getting out of bed or climbing stairs (both 44 per cent).
