Close to one in ten of Sweden‘s population (9%) aged 16 or older suffers from ‘severe pain’ in the shoulders, neck, back, hip, arms, or legs, a study by Statistics Sweden has found.
The Living Conditions survey found that among Sweden’s population, 63% say that they experience mild, moderate, or severe pain in their shoulders, neck, arms, hands, legs, feet, back or hip.
Within this cohort, 31% of the population consider themselves to have mild pain, 24% consider the pain to be moderate and 9% say that they suffer from ‘severe’ pain.
Older population
According to the health study, there is a higher prevalence of physical pain among older individuals. In the 16–29 age group, some 49% say that they experience mild, moderate, or severe pain, with 5% reporting severe pain.
In contrast, among those aged 80 years and older, 75% encounter mild, moderate, or severe pain, with 13%. indicating severe pain.
Women and men
In addition, a greater percentage of women (70%) than men (57%) report experiencing mild, moderate, or severe physical pain. Additionally, 10% women and 7% of men specify that they are dealing with severe pain.
The Statistics Sweden study also revealed that manual workers are more likely than non-manual workers to experience mild, moderate, or severe pain in various body regions, including the shoulders, neck, arms, hands, legs, feet, back, or hip.
