Prevalence and risk factors of neck pain among middle-aged and older adults in China: a cross-sectional study from the CHARLS cohort.
Yi-Wen Bai, Yu-Chen Wang, Xue Jiang and 5 others
PMID 40643268WHAT IT FOUND
Nearly one in five middle-aged and older adults in China reported neck pain.
Women were affected far more often than men. Neck pain was strongly linked to headache, depression, poor sleep, and multiple chronic conditions.
Key findings
01The overall weighted prevalence of self-reported neck pain among adults aged 45 and older was 18.93%.
02Neck pain was significantly more common in women (25.04%) than in men (12.26%).
03After adjusting for other factors, neck pain was independently associated with female sex, headache, depression symptoms, sleeping less than seven hours, and having more than one chronic condition.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relies entirely on self-reported data for neck pain and other conditions, which may be subject to recall bias and subjective interpretation. The cross-sectional design means the study can only identify associations, not prove that these factors cause neck pain. There was no clinical examination or imaging to confirm the diagnosis or severity of neck pain. The survey did not collect data on pain duration, severity, or specific analgesic use, limiting the ability to characterize the pain fully. More than 20% of subjects were excluded due to missing data, although sensitivity analyses suggested this did not substantially change the results.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by various Chinese government bodies, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Shanghai municipal health commissions.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the identified factors cause neck pain. Because this is a cross-sectional survey, it shows that these conditions occur together, but it does not prove whether the pain led to the depression or poor sleep, or vice versa.