Association between chronic pain and functioning in adult women: a cross-sectional study
Chronic pain; Women; International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.
INTRODUCTION: Chronic pain is defined as persistent pain, which is repeated for more than 3 months and can be classified as a disease if the individual's functionality is compromised. Women are more likely to experience pain due to biopsychosocial factors. The aim of this study was to assess the association between chronic pain and functioning of adult women. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, conducted with women of reproductive age 19 to 49 years. To characterize the sample, a sociodemographic questionnaire was prepared. Chronic pain was assessed using the visual analog scale and a brief pain inventory. Functioning through the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0). Data were analyzed using inferential statistics and considered statistically significant when p <0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of chronic pain in adult women was 53.3%. The place with the highest prevalence of chronic pain was the lumbar spine (17.9%) and the one with the lowest prevalence was the hip (4.1%). Women with chronic pain had higher scores in the general WHODAS 2.0 score (p = 0.010) and, in the domains mobility (p = 0.001), domestic activities (p = 0.027) and participation (p = 0.004). The average intensity of chronic pain per patient was 6.62 ± 2.26. This painful intensity is associated with difficulties only in the mobility domain, with greater difficulty for women with severe and severe pain, when compared to patients with mild pain. CONCLUSION: Women with chronic pain presented a greater limitation in functioning than women without chronic pain. The most affected domains were mobility, domestic activities and participation.