The Korean Journal of Pain

The Korean Pain Society (대한통증학회)
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Associations of unspecified pain, idiopathic pain and COVID-19 in South Korea: a nationwide cohort study

  • Kim, Namwoo (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital) ;
  • Kim, Jeewuan (Department of Statistics and Data Science, Yonsei University) ;
  • Yang, Bo Ram (College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University) ;
  • Hahm, Bong-Jin (Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital)
  • Received : 2022.05.04
  • Accepted : 2022.06.30
  • Published : 2022.10.01
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Abstract

Background: Few studies have investigated unspecified or idiopathic pain associated with COIVD-19. This study aimed to provide the incidence rates of unspecified pain and idiopathic pain in patients with COVID-19 for 90 days after COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods: A propensity score matched cohort was used, including all patients with COVID-19 in South Korea, and analyzed their electronic medical records. The control group consisted of those who had not had tests for COVID-19 at all. Unspecified pain diagnoses consisted of diagnoses related to pain included in the ICD-10 Chapter XVIII. Idiopathic pain disorders included fibromyalgia, temporomandibular joint disorders, headaches, chronic prostatitis, complex regional pain syndrome, atypical facial pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and interstitial cystitis. Results: After matching, the number of participants in each group was 7,911. For most unspecified pain, the incidences were higher in the COVID-19 group (11.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 11.0-12.5) than in the control group (6.5%; 95% CI, 6.0-7.1). For idiopathic pain, only the headaches had a significantly higher incidence in the COVID-19 group (6.6%; 95% CI, 6.1-7.2) than in the control group (3.7%; 95% CI, 3.3-4.1). However, using a different control group that included only patients who visited a hospital at least once for any reasons, the incidences of most unspecified and idiopathic pain were higher in the control group than in the COVID-19 group. Conclusions: Patients with COVID-19 might be at a higher risk of experiencing unspecified pain in the acute phase or after recovery compared with individuals who had not had tests for COVID-19.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank all staff members of the National Health Insurance Sharing Service.

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