Censis, 9.8 million Italians with chronic pain, costs of 62 billion per year

2023-12-21 11:57:49

There are 9.8 million Italians who suffer from chronic pain of moderate or severe intensity. They correspond to 19.7% of Italian adults: two out of ten. It varies between 14.7% of young people, 21.1% of adults and 20.9% of elderly people, with a female prevalence: 21.2% of women compared to 18.1% of men. And with social costs of almost 62 billion a year, considering all the expenses borne by the sick, the cost of health services borne by the National Health Service, the lack of productivity of the patients, the assistance services they require and the informal ‘care’. This is what emerges from the 1st Censis-Grünenthal Report “Living without pain”, presented today in Rome, at the Senate library.

More on costs: they are estimated at 6,304 euros on average per year per patient, of which 1,838 euros of direct costs and 4,466 euros of indirect costs. The former are paid by the patients for 646 euros and 1,192 euros fall on the National Health Service. Overall, therefore, the expenditure in Italy can be estimated at 61.9 billion per year. Private expenses relating to the management and treatment of the disease weigh ‘a lot’ or ‘quite a bit’ on the family budget according to 66.5% of patients, 28% say to a small extent and only 5.5% do not have a significant impact. Private expenses weigh ‘a lot’ or ‘quite a bit’ on the family budgets of 76% of people with low incomes and 48.3% of wealthier people.

And again: for 67.8%, moderate or severe chronic pain has a ‘very’ (11.1%) or ‘fairly’ (56.7%) negative impact on their daily life and well-being, while for 28 .2% has a negative impact but to a limited extent and for only 4% it has no negative effects. In any case, for 92.8% of sufferers, chronic pain of moderate or severe intensity affects their daily activities and only 7.2% live with it without significant negative effects.

40% suffered negative consequences at work, 11% had to leave

The constraints in daily life are: difficulties in lifting objects (60.2%), doing gymnastics or other physical exercise (59.3%), sleeping (50.5%), walking (49%), carrying out household chores (48.5%), participate in social and recreational activities (36.8%), drive a car (23.6%), manage relationships with family and friends (23.2%), sexual desire and relationships (22.7%), ordinary daily activities such as washing and dressing (22.6%), nutrition (18.6%). Further negative effects on the psycho-physical condition of the patients are: 48.8% feel apathy, loss of strength, weakness, 38.2% tend easily to emotion, 37% experience states of anxiety and depression, 30, 8% suffer from dizziness. Therefore 38.2% have to resort to forms of support from family, friends or volunteers.

Furthermore, for 40.6% of sufferers, the onset of the pathology had negative consequences on their work. 35.4% had to take sick leave, 30.8% had to ask for time off to go to the doctor and carry out treatments, 27.7% had to often be absent from work, 25% reduced their performance ( and therefore career opportunities), 13.3% had to change tasks, 11.8% had to reduce their hours by resorting to part time (which corresponds to a reduced salary), 5.8% had to work from home, 3.8% were forced to change jobs because the job was no longer compatible with problems related to pain. Indeed, 11.1% of patients had to stop working and 1.2% were fired. Furthermore, 41.3% of employed sick people declare that their condition is so underestimated at work that it is considered an excuse to be absent or to put in less effort.

But loneliness and misunderstanding also weigh on daily life. 62.1% of sufferers manage to keep their pain under control thanks to drugs, therapies and treatments. However, 56.5% believe that no one truly understands their suffering and 46.7% feel alone with their pain. 36.4% have the feeling that even their doctor underestimates the pathology. More generally, for 72.5% of sufferers, pain in our society is decidedly underestimated. But what do sick people expect? For 81.7%, pain should be recognized as a separate pathology. For 86.2% it is essential to establish, within the NHS, a reference specialist for chronic pain of moderate or severe intensity or a specifically dedicated service.