Prévalence et caractéristiques des douleurs chroniques avec caractère neuropathique en population générale à Parakou au nord du Bénin en 2012

The burden of chronic and neuropathic pain is high making it an important public health problem. The epidemiology is not well known in the general population in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to determine the prevalence of chronic pain with a neuropathic component at Tititou in Parakou in northeastern Benin. A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st April to 31 May 2012 and included 2314 people in a door-to-door survey. Chronic pain was defined as pain occurring for more than three months. Neuropathic pain was assessed with the DN4 score. A neurological exam was performed by a young physician for all people with chronic pain. During the interview, sociodemographic data, past medical history, weight and height were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to analyze the main associated factors. Among the 2314 people included in this survey, 49.7% were male. The mean age was 32.3 ± 13.1 years. Nine hundred seven reported pain occurring for more than 3 months. The prevalence of chronic pain was 39.2% (CI95%: 29.3–34.7). It was more frequent in females, older people, among diabetics, people with a history of any surgery, stroke, brain trauma, and alcoholism. The prevalence of chronic pain with a neuropathic component was 6.3% (CI95%: 5.0–7.9). The main associated factors were age, matrimonial status, professional occupation, body mass index, diabetes, history of zoster, history of any surgery, brain trauma. People with neuropathic pain often reported pain with burning (87.6%), prickling (82.8%), numbness (66.9%), tingling (63.4%), and lightning pain (48.3%). The main locations were the lower limbs and low back pain. This study suggested the high frequency of chronic neuropathic pain in the general population in Parakou compared with rates reported in western countries.