A global study published in Nature Medicine has found that the prevalence of bodily pain increases most sharply before the age of 55, challenging the assumption that pain rises steadily throughout ageing. The analysis of more than 6.1 million people across 118 countries and territories also found that women reported higher pain levels than men across all 11 anatomical areas examined.

The study, titled Global and regional reference curves for pain across the lifespan in 6.1 million individuals in 118 countries, analysed self-reported pain data from 6,125,459 participants, aged five years to over 100 years. Researchers combined information from 902 population-based data sources, collected between 1990 and 2025, to develop global and regional benchmarks for pain across the lifespan.

The findings showed substantial differences in pain prevalence by body region. Back pain was reported by approximately 40% of the populations represented in the analysis, making it the most prevalent pain category, while facial pain affected around 2%. The researchers examined pain affecting the back, neck and shoulder, head, face, abdomen, chest, hip, knee, foot and ankle, alongside overall bodily pain.

Women reported more pain than men across all 11 anatomical sites. The differences were particularly pronounced for facial pain, headaches and abdominal pain. The study also found that headache and abdominal pain tended to peak earlier in life, whereas back, hip and knee pain continued to rise with age.

Geographical differences were another major finding. From around age 40, overall bodily pain, joint pain and back pain increased more rapidly in countries with lower Human Development Index values. Among people aged 80 and above, the prevalence of any bodily pain was approximately 30.6 percentage points higher in lower-HDI countries than in higher-HDI countries. Low back pain was nearly twice as prevalent among older populations in lower-HDI settings.

The researchers estimated that smoking, obesity and low income collectively accounted for 18.3% of the pain burden across anatomical sites globally. However, these factors explained a smaller share of the burden in some lower-HDI regions, indicating that additional social, environmental or healthcare-related factors may contribute to the differences.

The study has important implications for pain surveillance and prevention, suggesting that interventions may need to begin earlier in life and be tailored to regional needs. However, the researchers cautioned that most of the data were collected at single points in time. Consequently, the findings compare different age groups rather than tracking the same individuals as they age, and they do not establish that ageing itself causes the observed patterns.

The researchers say the global reference curves could help clinicians and public health teams compare pain patterns across populations and identify opportunities for earlier prevention and more targeted care.