Global Pain Index (GPI) Finds Australia is a Nation in Pain

Australia will be the first country to launch the 2017 Global Pain Index (GPI), a global study conducted by GSK on the attitudes of body and head pain sufferers, surveyed over 19,000 adults across 32 counties, revealing that almost all the world’s population (95%) suffer from body pain and 86% suffer from head pain. Results from the 2017 Global Pain Index ranks Australia as the country with the highest rate of weekly body pain, compared to the rest of the world, impacting nearly 7 in 10 (68%) Aussies and decreasing our quality of life; from personal relationships and mood, to performance at work and family life. Pain is restricting our ability to enjoy moments with family and friends, and to be the best version of ourselves. To help combat this and to provide Australians with sustainable pain management strategies GSK have brought together a ‘Pain Intervention Task force’ of experts that can talk to the different aspects of pain management from pharmaceuticals to nutrition, to exercise and psychology. The aim of the campaign is to empower Australians with a holistic, 360 approach to managing their every day pain.

Key Australian GPI findings:

• 96% of Aussies surveyed suffer from body pain
• More than two thirds (68%) of body pain sufferers and 56% of head pain sufferers say pain decreases their quality of life
• 50% of pain suffering Aussies say they have trouble enjoying moments with their loved ones due to pain
• More than two-thirds of sufferers (68%) say they hide their pain from their loved ones
• 45% of those surveyed agree that pain has an impact on their personal and professional relationships
• Body pain alone has cost the Australian economy $10.6 billion in the past year
• Australian workers took 3.3 sick days for body pain and 1.4 days for head pain in the past year
• Regular pain sufferers are more likely to be worried (55%) than anxious (29%) because of their body pain
• 6 in 10 say their pain makes them feel older than they are (60%)
• Nearly half (46%) say they do not feel attractive when they are in pain, with women more likely than men to say they do not feel attractive when in pain (51% vs. 38% men)

For more information regarding the Global Pain Index, please refer to the following website - www.globalpainindex.com.au