Does Persistent Pain Impact Older Adults’ Physical Function, Cognition, and Well-Being?

Summary: Persistent pain, which is common in those over the age of 65, was linked to meaningful declines in physical function and well-being.

Source: Wiley

In a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society of 5,589 US adults aged 65 years and older, persistent pain was common and was linked to meaningful declines in physical function and well-being over 7 years.

Investigators found that 38.7% of participants reported persistent pain, and 27.8% reported intermittent pain. (“Persistent pain” was defined as being bothered by pain in the last month in two consecutive annual interviews and “intermittent” pain was defined as bothersome pain in one interview only.)  

More than one-third of participants described pain in five or more sites.

Over the subsequent 7 years, participants with persistent pain were more likely to experience declines in physical function (64% persistent pain, 59% intermittent pain, 57% no bothersome pain) and well-being (48% persistent pain, 45% intermittent pain, 44% no bothersome pain), but were not more likely to experience cognitive decline (25% persistent pain, 24% intermittent pain, 23% no bothersome pain).

This shows an older man holding his head as if in pain
Investigators found that 38.7% of participants reported persistent pain, and 27.8% reported intermittent pain. Image is in the public domain

“The findings from this study point to the importance of access to effective treatment for persistent pain in older adults and the need for additional research in chronic pain to optimize quality of life,” said lead author Christine Ritchie, MD, MSPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital.

About this pain and aging research news

Author: Sara Henning-Stout
Source: Wiley
Contact: Sara Henning-Stout – Wiley
Image: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.
Impact of Persistent Pain on Function, Cognition, and Well-being of Older Adults” by Christine Ritchie et al. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society


Abstract

Background

We sought to determine the population-level associations between persistent pain and subsequent changes in physical function, cognitive function, and well-being, outcomes important to older adults.

Methods

We used data from National Health Aging Trends Study (NHATS) of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ from 2011 to 2019. We defined “persistent pain” as being bothered by pain in the last month in both the 2011and 2012 interviews and “intermittent” pain including those reporting bothersome pain in one interview only. We used competing risks regression to estimate the association between persistent pain and the development of clinically meaningful declines in physical function, cognitive function, and well-being, adjusting for age, sex, race, education, and marital status at baseline.

Results

Of the 5589 eligible NHATS participants, 38.7% reported persistent pain and 27.8% reported intermittent pain. Over one-third described pain in five or more sites. Over the subsequent 7 years, participants with persistent pain were more likely to experience declines in physical function (64% persistent pain, 59% intermittent pain, 57% no bothersome pain; aHR 1.14, 95% CI 1.05–1.23) and well-being (48% persistent pain, 45% intermittent pain, 44% no bothersome pain; aHR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01–1.21), but were not more likely to experience cognitive decline (25% persistent pain, 24% intermittent pain, 23% no bothersome pain; aHR 1.02, 95% CI 0.90–1.16).

Conclusions

Persistent pain is common in older adults and occurs in multiple body sites. Persistent pain contributes to meaningful declines in physical function and well-being over 7 years and warrants proactive interventions to mitigate pain.

Join our Newsletter
I agree to have my personal information transferred to AWeber for Neuroscience Newsletter ( more information )
Sign up to receive our recent neuroscience headlines and summaries sent to your email once a day, totally free.
We hate spam and only use your email to contact you about newsletters. You can cancel your subscription any time.