Chronic Joint Pain Disparities for U.S. Transgender Adults: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2020

Purpose: Several studies have found that sexual minority individuals are at greater risk for chronic pain. However, these studies did not ask about gender identity, and research on chronic pain in transgender populations remains scarce. This present study examined the relationship between transgender status and chronic joint pain disorders among U.S. adults. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We compared odds of chronic joint pain disorders by transgender status (n transgender = 967, cisgender = 217,943, don’t know/not sure = 648, refused = 2072) using logistic regression adjusting for age. Results: After adjusting for age, transgender respondents reported greater odds of chronic joint pain disorders (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05-1.48), compared with cisgender respondents. Odds for chronic joint pain disorders were lower for the “refused” group (AOR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.76-0.93) and for those who answered “don’t know/not sure” (AOR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.61-0.88). Conclusion: Consistent with preliminary evidence and with the minority stress model, transgender respondents were at increased odds of chronic joint pain disorders when adjusting for age.