Aim: This study aimed to investigate how demographic factors such as race, age, sex and ethnicity can impact hip circumference (HC) and waist circumference (WC) in patients with chronic pain.Materials & methods: We queried the NIH-sponsored All of Us database for patients with documented HC, WC and waist/hip ratio (WHR) data. This cross-sectional study categorized participants into four groups: total cohort, no chronic pain, mild/moderate chronic pain (numeric rating scale < 7) and severe chronic pain (numeric rating scale > 7). Further subgroup analyses were performed based on race, age, sex and ethnicity. We examined the correlation between chronic pain and WC, HC and WHR. ANCOVA analysis was used to determine to investigate demographics.Results: This study included 204,013 participants, with 25.22% having a chronic pain diagnoses. In most subgroups, females had significantly greater HC, while males had greater WC and WHR. WC (p < 0.001 in females, p < 0.01 in males), HC (p < 0.001 in females) and WHR (p < 0.001 in females, p < 0.05 in males) were significantly greater in the severe pain group compared with the mild/moderate pain group.Conclusion: These findings suggest that when assessing HC and WC, demographic variables need to be considered to develop more personalized and comprehensive treatment plans for chronic pain patients.
Keywords: chronic pain; demographic factors; pain measurement; waist/hip ratio.
Our study looked at how factors like race, age, sex and ethnicity relate to hip and waist sizes in people with chronic pain. We wanted to see whether waist and hip measurements that lead to chronic pain is associated with race, age, sex and ethnicity. We used information from a database of patients with chronic pain formed in the USA. We grouped people based on how much pain they had (none, mild/moderate, severe) and then looked for differences between races, ages, sexes and ethnicities. Among men of all races, those with mild to moderate pain tended to have larger waists compared with those without pain. For women, those who experienced severe pain had larger waists and hips.We addressed how race, age, sex and ethnicity are associated with these results. Our main finding is that doctors should consider not just hip and waist sizes but also a patient’s demographic background. This can help them create better treatment plans to determine risks of developing pain and individualizing treatment.