SynthesisPain2025
Chronic pain in European adult populations: a systematic review of prevalence and associated clinical features.
Synthesis in Pain, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Do Acceptance- and Mindfulness-Based Interventions Improve Psychological Flexibility in People With Chronic Pain? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Pain Catastrophizing and Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2026Pooled it
- Functional brain alterations associated with acupuncture for chronic pain: a scoping review of fMRI studies.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Are adults with chronic pain more likely to develop hypertension than adults without chronic pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of anaesthesia · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Expectations and communication in opioid pain management: a qualitative study of patients' experience.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Existential Well-Being Mediates the Relationship Between Religious Well-Being and Mental Health as Well as Quality of Life in Polish Chronic Pain Patients: Longitudinal Pilot Study.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Management of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain Through a Multicomponent Workshop Based on Non-Pharmacological Therapies: A Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Study, Including a Two-Arm Parallel-Group Randomized Clinical Trial and a Qualitative Component.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Tonabersat Blocks Gap Junctions and Alleviates Thermal Pain Behavior in Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Social Media Use Among People Living with Chronic Pain: Cross-Sectional Study of Associated Factors.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Activating Transcription Factor 3 in Pain: A Molecular Regulator and Emerging Biomarker.Genes · 2026Review
- Barriers and facilitators of engagement with app-based pain self-management strategies among chronic pain patients (CPPs).Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Family History of Chronic Pain: What Impact Does It Have on Current Clinical Status? Results From an Italian Study.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Article
- Environmental Physiotherapy for Chronic Spinal Pain Management: An International Modified Delphi Study.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Article
- Mediators of the Pain-Depression Relationship in Adults with Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Exploratory Meta-Analyses.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Green Light Therapy for Pain and Pain-Related Psychosocial Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Human Studies.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Chronic Pain Identification Through Electronic Records (C-PICTURE): development and validation of an algorithm to identify people with chronic pain using primary care records: study protocol.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Self-Reported Symptom Burden and Clinical Characteristics in Fibromyalgia: Evidence from a Large Online Survey in Italy.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- How chronic pain is defined matters: Prevalence estimates and health-related quality of life under alternative definitions.British journal of pain · 2026Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
abstractChronic pain (CP) is a multifaceted and severely disabling persistent condition that affects individuals worldwide. A synthesis of epidemiological data is still lacking. The present systematic review aims at presenting point, period, and lifetime prevalence estimates of CP in the European adult population, as well as relevant features associated with it. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane library was run from inception to May 2024, resulting in 39,832 hits. Among those, 132 full-text articles were assessed, and 23 studies comprising 862,013 participants with CP were included. The Joanna Biggs Institutes' Critical Appraisal Checklist for Studies Reporting Prevalence Data (JBI) was used for quality assessment. Findings showed a point prevalence ranging from 12% to 48%, a 6-month prevalence of 17.5% to 49.8%, a 12-month prevalence ranging from 8.1% to 44.6%, and a lifetime prevalence ranging from 12.7% to 33.7% independently from sex. Sociodemographic factors (eg, female sex, higher age, no partnership, lower education, unemployment) and clinical features (eg, medical diseases, mental disorders and burdens, healthcare utilization, functional impairment) were identified as being associated with CP. The variability in prevalence estimates can be reduced by applying consistent diagnostic criteria (eg, ICD-11) and by using standardized assessment tools (eg, scales, clinical interview). The high prevalence and the characteristics of the associated features support the need for adequate, multicomponent care paths to manage CP based on a comprehensive biopsychosocial model.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.