kamermanpr / hiv-pain-sadhs2016

Comparison of the prevalence of chronic pain in individuals testing positive or negative for HIV

Chronic pain in HIV

Analysis scripts for a study investigating the prevalence of chronic pain in the South African population according to HIV status.

All data are available through the DHS Program website (https://dhsprogram.com/data/dataset/South-Africa_Standard-DHS_2016.cfm)

Abstract

Background: There is a scarcity of data on chronic pain in people living with HIV, and no data comparing chronic pain prevalence in the HIV-infected population (HIV+) to that found in the uninfected population (HIV-). This study was undertaken to: 1) estimate the prevalence of chronic pain in HIV+ individuals ≥ 15 years old, and 2) compare the prevalence of chronic pain between the HIV+ and HIV- groups.

Methods: Individuals ≥ 15 years old, were recruited using multi-stage probability sampling in the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey for South Africa. In an interview, participants were asked whether they currently had pain or discomfort, and if so, whether that pain or discomfort had persisted for at least three months (operational definition of chronic pain). Blood samples were taken from a volunteering sub-sample for HIV testing.

Results: 6584 individuals answered the questionnaire and were tested for HIV. Median (IQR) age was 35 (24 to 55) years, 55% (95% CI: 52 to 56) were female, and 19% (95% CI: 17 to 20) tested positive for HIV. The prevalence of chronic pain was 19% (95% CI: 16 to 23) in the HIV+ group, which was similar to that found in the HIV- group [20% (95% CI: 18 to 22); odds ratio (adjusted for: age, sex, economic status) = 0.93 (95% CI: 0.74 to 1.17), p-value = 0.549].

Conclusion: The prevalence of chronic pain in South Africans living with HIV was ~20%, and having HIV was not associated with increased risk of having chronic pain.