Pain among women: Associations with socio-economic and work conditions

We examined pain prevalence (general/body sites) and its characteristics/consequences among a randomised sample of women from the general population between 18 and 64 years (n = 3616). We also scrutinised associations between pain and various factors (e.g. socio-economic) by means of multivariate logistic/linear regression analyses. The women completed a questionnaire assessing various areas (e.g. pain). The design was cross-sectional and data were collected during 8 consecutive weeks. Sixty-three per cent of women reported pain during the last 3 months, of which 65% during more than 3 months. The multivariate analyses revealed associations between various socio-economic factors (e.g. financial strain) and pain in general/all studied body sites. In addition, psychosocial work conditions (i.e. work strain and social support) were significantly related to pain. Moreover, the multivariate analyses conducted among women with pain indicated relationships between socio-economic/psychosocial work conditions, and pain characteristics (e.g. intensity) and consequences (i.e. disability). A large number of women from the general population suffer from pain, in particularly prolonged pain. Women in a deprived socio-economic situation not only run a higher pain risk, but also experience their pain as more severe/disabling than their more privileged counterparts. Improvements of, for example, the socio-economic status among women living in deprived social and material circumstances, along with improved working environment may be crucial to reduce women's pain problems.