Oct 3, 2006 Editorial The Clarion-Ledger (MI)

STARKVILLE — Millions of Southerners are enduring chronic pain with little complaint these days as acute aches and ailments take a devastating toll on their personal lives.

Call it Southern stoicism or a penchant for misery, many of the suffering horde seem to accept pain as a “normal part of life” while an assortment of maladies inflict havoc on their work, sex life, sleep, mental health, play and relationships with others.

The findings are part of a newly released study by Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center, directed by Art Cosby. The university report is titled “Social and Cultural Dimensions of Pain: An Overview of the Southern Pain Prevalence Study 2004.”

More than 3,600 adults in six Southern states answered fundamental questions about pain and pain management during the 2004 study, conducted in partnership with the Mid-South Division of the American Cancer Society. In addition to Mississippi, targeted states were Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Letitia Thompson of the American Cancer Society said the pain study was important “because the management of cancer pain occurs in a social and cultural context where understanding of prevalence levels, attitudes and beliefs can either enhance or hinder the treatment of patients.”

The researchers found pain to be “pervasive” among Southern adults surveyed.

“Many individuals were experiencing chronic pain, and substantial numbers judged their pain to be either moderate or severe,” they said. “When this data was projected to the six-state region, it was clear that several million individuals are living with chronic pain conditions.” Their report also noted: “About one-half of respondents (49 percent) said their pain interfered with their sexual relations.”

The study examined beliefs and attitudes people hold about pain and pain management, especially those that might be detrimental to their health and well-being.

“Although the impacts of pain on everyday life are very complex, one inescapable conclusion from the data is that pain has a broad-based effect upon the productivity of individuals and, hence, the wealth of society,” the researchers concluded.

Those surveyed also were asked why pain may be tolerated by many persons when modern experts say pain nearly always can be controlled or eliminated.

“The survey results point to a number of widely held beliefs and attitudes that appear to result in major barriers to reducing or eliminating pain, including the extent to which pain is seen as a ‘normal part of life’ to be endured,” the report stated.

The study found most people experiencing moderate to severe pain express a greater satisfaction with health-care providers than with the effectiveness of their pain management. It also found, however, the willingness of sufferers to risk dependency on or addiction to pain-reducing medication increased with the severity of the pain.

Although experience with cancer was not central to the survey, the study found cancer and malignancy had touched the lives of most of the families involved.

“A significant minority of the respondents (9 percent) reported they have been, at some point in their life, personally diagnosed with a cancer condition,” the researchers observed.

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