Background and objectives: Chronic pain is an unpleasant sensory experience that acts as a warning signal against imminent or existing damage, lasting more than three months. Several studies have related chronic pain with the comorbidity of other mental illnesses. The objective of this study is to describe the comorbidity of people with chronic pain in Andalusia.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out based on a secondary analysis of the Andalusian Health Survey of Andalusia in 2015 using free software R. The sample size was 6569 people over 18 years old, living in Andalusia.
Results: The average age of the participants was 54.08 ± 16.48 years. 14% of respondents suffer from chronic pain (13.4% men and 17.8% women), observing an increase in prevalence from 55 years (20-28%). Women are more likely to suffer depression (OR: 1.5, 60%) and anxiety (OR: 1.85, 65%) in comorbidity with chronic pain than men. However, men have higher rates of comorbidity between chronic pain and kidney disease (OR: 1.55, 61%), hypercholesterolemia (OR: 1.57, 61%), gastric ulcer (OR: 2.28, 70%), heart attack (OR: 1.51, 60%), stroke (OR: 2.25, 70%) and other mental problems different from anxiety and depression (OR: 2.54, 72%).
Conclusions: Chronic pain is associated with comorbidity with all chronic diseases assessed in the survey. Results show different comorbidity rates for every related with gender, which implies the need to carry out an in-depth study of this inequality from a gender perspective, analyzing causes and consequences.

MOST PREVALENT DIAGNOSES ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC PAIN IN ANDALUSIA. GENDER DIFFERENCES