About a third of seniors, and a quarter of those ages 45 to 64 say they live with pain everyday. In a two-week period, a typical American is in pain for an average of four days. Fourteen percent of Americans say they have been diagnosed by a doctor as having chronic pain, and an additional five percent say they suffer from chronic pain, but have not been diagnosed by a doctor. About one in four senior citizens have been diagnosed as having chronic pain, compared with just five percent of those under age 30. However, just under one-third of those who report suffering from chronic pain say it does not affect their daily life that much.
Women are somewhat more likely than men to take medications to treat pain on a daily basis.
The error due to sampling could be plus or minus three percentage points for results based on the entire sample. Sampling error for subgroups may be higher. MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved. A total of 14 percent of Americans say they have been diagnosed by a doctor as having chronic pain.