Study STING: STudy on Individual perceptioN, knowledGe and characterization of neuropathic pain, in Portugal - Community data.

OBJECTIVE: Portuguese data concerning general population knowledge and prevalence about neuropathic pain (NeP) are sparse and many patients remain frequently undiagnosed as this disease is still under recognized among population. This study aimed to evaluate Portuguese perception about NeP and to characterize their knowledge and information sources. Additionally, the study had the exploratory objective of determining NeP prevalence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Epidemiological, cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the Portuguese population aged 18 years old or more, by direct application of a structured questionnaire. Demographic data and data on knowledge and perception about NeP were collected. It was also collected data about NeP diagnosis. Descriptive analysis and a logistic regression assuming a significance level of 0.05 were performed. RESULTS: 1072 subjects were included, 47.9% male, mean±SD age 46.4±18.6 years old. 71.3% referred never having heard about NeP. The percentage of individuals who declared to know about NeP characteristics decreased as the specificity of the theme increased: 24.8% referred knowing the disease's symptoms, 23.0% knew how it is treated and 15.6% knew which situations/ pathologies can cause NeP. The three most referred symptoms of the disease were itching (42.6%), numbness (33.6%) and joint pain (31.2%). An older age and a higher educational level were associated with a higher knowledge about this pathology. A 3.2% auto-referred prevalence of NeP was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The data highlight the lack of information about NeP in Portugal. Defining multidimensional strategies to improve people's awareness about NeP might improve early diagnosis and treatment of this very debilitating condition.