One in 5 adults have chronic pain, CDC report finds

Chronic pain is among the most common reasons adults go to the doctor, but estimates of how common it is in the U.S. vary widely. Prompted by the federal government's National Pain Strategy, the CDC just released a more precise assessment. Analyzing data from over 17,000 in-person interviews, researchers estimated 20 percent of adults in the U.S. had chronic pain, and for 8 percent of adults, it was so severe that it prevented them from going about their daily lives most days over the past six months. That kind of severe pain was more prevalent among certain groups, including women, adults without private health insurance, and those living in poverty.