The European Parliament has faced a call to arms over the treatment of chronic pain.
The Pain Proposal European Consensus Report, written by experts and policymakers and sponsored by drug giant Pfizer, said chronic pain could be costing Europe as much as €300bn annually.
It added, while costs to healthcare systems are significant, nine-tenths of the burden falls on employers, families and taxpayers.
The report found 21% of Europeans with chronic pain are unable to work, and of those who are, 61% said it had directly impacted their employment status. In addition, people with chronic pain in employment felt that their condition interfered with their ability to work effectively 28% of the time.
The report revealed that currently around one in five adults suffer from moderate to severe chronic pain across Europe, a figure set to increase with the ageing population.
Professor Giustino Varrassi, chairman of the Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine at L'Aquila University, Medical School, Italy, said: "European economies cannot sustain the current spend on chronic pain - for example welfare costs which may run into millions."
However, he stressed there are "steps to improve the current system and help people get the recognition, diagnosis and treatment they need for this life-long condition".
The report calls on the European Union to provide access to a minimum standard of care for chronic pain. By treating chronic pain as seriously as other major conditions or diseases, the report argues both cost savings and better outcomes for patients will be delivered.
