Prevalence of pain among rural adults seeking medical care through medical camps in Tamil Nadu

Background: One of the most common complaints of the patient seeking medical care is pain, and it has been recognized by the World Health Organization as a problem of global importance. Objectives: The aim was to estimate the prevalence of pain among people above the age of 40 years, to identify the common sites of pain complaints and to study the association of body mass index (BMI) with musculoskeletal pains. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 1246 participants through our weekly medical camp in 12 villages of Kattankulathur block in Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu from August 2013 to October 2013. Individuals over the age of 40 years who had attended our medical camp with complaint of pain (intermittent or continuous) for 1 month or longer were included in the study. Descriptive data were presented as measures of central tendency and dispersion. Chi-square test was used for analyzes of categorical variables. Results: Nearly 51.1% of the respondents reported some form of pain. The prevalent sites of pain include knee pain (18.6%), low back pain (8.9%), generalized body pain (7.8%), multiple joint pain (4.9%) and pain in the legs (2.7%). Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in men and women were 32.7% and 53.7%, respectively. Respondents with BMI more than 25 are at higher risk of suffering from knee pain, hip pain, low back pain and leg pain and it was found statistically significant for Knee pain and low back pain. Conclusion: An appropriate strategy and guidelines have to be developed to manage the problem of pain among above 40 years age group at primary care level of the rural communities in India