Neck pain in Hong Kong: A telephone survey on prevalence, consequences, and risk groups

Abstract

Study Design A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted using a two-stage randomization process.

Objectives The objectives of this paper were to investigate the prevalence of neck pain and their consequences and risk groups in the Hong Kong population.

Summary of Background Data There has been a lack of recent information on the prevalence and consequences of neck pain in the population of Hong Kong.

Methods A total of 664 subjects were interviewed on the socio-demographic characteristics, occurrence, and consequences of neck pain. A random sample of the respondents was reinterviewed after 7 to 10 days later, by another interviewer for the reliability check.

Results The lifetime prevalence of neck pain was 65.4% (95% confidence interval, 61.8%–69.0%). The 12-month prevalence was 53.6% (41.0% in male, 59.0% in female) (95% confidence interval, 49.8%–57.4%). About 15.0% of these patients had moderate to severe pain. Moreover, 4.5% of these subjects had to limit their social activities and 3.1% had to limit their work. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that females, managers, administrators, and professionals have a high risk of neck pain in the population of Hong Kong.

Conclusion Neck pain is highly prevalent in Hong Kong, particularly among females, managers, administrators, and professionals.