Table 1.
Pain prevalence levels and differences by sexual identity.
| Pain prevalence levels | Pain prevalence differences | Respondent N and % | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prevalence | 95% CI | Percentage-point difference* | Relative difference* | No. of respondents† | Weighted percentage† | |
| Panel A. Pain in 3+ sites | ||||||
| Straight | 11.5 | (11.3, 11.7) | — | — | 129,426 | 96.65 |
| Gay/lesbian | 16.1 | (14.3, 18.1) | 4.6 | 1.40‡ (1.26, 1.56) | 2743 | 1.86 |
| Bisexual | 20.1 | (17.6, 22.8) | 8.6 | 1.75‡ (1.53, 1.99) | 1595 | 1.14 |
| “Something else” | 22.9 | (18.2, 28.3) | 11.4 | 1.99‡ (1.60, 2.46) | 502 | 0.35 |
| Panel B. Chronic pain | ||||||
| Straight | 17.2 | (16.9, 17.5) | — | — | 92,062 | 96.60 |
| Gay/lesbian | 21.7 | (19.3, 24.4) | 4.5 | 1.26‡ (1.12, 1.41) | 2006 | 1.92 |
| Bisexual | 23.7 | (20.8, 26.9) | 6.5 | 1.38‡ (1.21, 1.56) | 1210 | 1.14 |
| “Something else” | 27.0 | (21.8, 32.9) | 9.8 | 1.57‡ (1.28, 1.91) | 397 | 0.35 |
NHIS 2013 to 2018, U.S. adults age 18 to 64 years. N = 134,266 for pain in 3+ sites and N = 95,675 for chronic pain. The overall weighted prevalence was 11.7% (11.5, 11.9) for pain in 3+ sites and 17.4% (17.1, 17.7) for chronic pain. “Something else” was the actual verbatim terminology used on the NHIS; it captures other non–heterosexual-identified adults. More information about the design of the sexual identity question is available elsewhere.52
Relative to straight respondents: Percentage-point difference is just the arithmetic difference in prevalence levels; the relative difference is a prevalence ratio obtained from the complex survey-adjusted (modified/robust) bivariate Poisson model of each outcome as a function of sexual identity.
The number of respondents is the raw count of respondents in the sample with valid information, that is, number used in analyses; the weighted percentage corresponds to the distribution of the groups in the population (target population of the NHIS, which is noninstitutionalized U.S. adults).
P < 0.001.
N, number of respondents or sample size; NHIS, National Health Interview Survey.