Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42868772›Full record

ArticleSleep medicine2026

Frequent chronic pain in relation to sleep disturbances: A nationally representative study of adults in the United States.

Philip M Zendels, Symielle A Gaston, Michael V Vitiello, Christopher Payne, W Braxton Jackson, Sara Nowakowski, Chandra L Jackson

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Sleep medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Philip M ZendelsEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Symielle A GastonEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Michael V VitielloDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Christopher PayneDLH, LLC, Bethesda, MD, USA.
W Braxton JacksonDLH, LLC, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Sara NowakowskiDepartment of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Chandra L JacksonEpidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; Division of Intramural Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Electronic address: Chandra.Jackson@nih.gov.

Funding

Social and Environmental Determinants of Health EquityZIAES103325 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI JACKSON, CHANDRA · 2017 to 2025
$12.7M
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA ES103325
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFrequent chronic pain (FCP) is associated with sleep. Primarily, pain can increase stress and inflammation, impairing sleep. In turn, but less commonly, poor sleep can increase pain sensitivity, suggesting potential bidirectionality. However, the FCP-sleep relationship has not been investigated across various sociodemographic groups, especially in nationally representative samples.

methodsUsing the 2013-2018 US National Health Interview Survey, we investigated FCP-sleep associations among adults. Participants self-reported musculoskeletal pain over the past three months (FCP: yes ['everyday'/'most days'] vs. no ['some days'/'never']), short sleep duration (<7-h), insomnia symptoms (difficulty falling/staying asleep ≥3 times/week), and nonrestorative sleep (NRS: waking feeling rested ≤3 days/week). Adjusting for confounders, we used survey-weighted Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations, overall and by age, sex, and race along with ethnicity.

resultsAmong 90,810 adults, mean age±SE was 48 ± 0.11 years, 24% reported FCP (64% of adults aged ≥50 years, 56% of women). FCP was associated with a higher prevalence of short sleep, with stronger associations among younger (PR

conclusionsThere were complex associations between FCP and sleep health among US adults that varied by sociodemographic characteristics. Targeted intervention studies are warranted.

Indexed as

AgingBack painChronic painEthnic and racial minoritiesNeck painSex characteristicsSleepSleep initiation and maintenance disorders

Identifiers

PMID42868772
PMCPMC13676298

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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.