OBJECTIVES: To characterize longitudinal patterns of musculoskeletal pain in a community sample of older adults over a 6-year period and to identify factors associated with persistence of pain. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of the Cardiovascular Health Study. SETTING: Community-based cohort drawn from four U.S. counties. PARTICIPANTS: Five thousand ninety-three men and women aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Over a 6-year period, pain was assessed each year using a single question about the presence of pain in any bones or joints during the last year. If affirmative, participants were queried about pain in seven locations (hands, shoulders, neck, back, hips, knees, feet). Participants were categorized according to the percentage of time that pain was present and according to the intermittent or chronic pattern of pain. Factors associated with persistent pain during five remaining years of the study were identified. RESULTS: Over 6 years, 32% of participants reported pain for three or more consecutive years, and 32% reported pain intermittently. Of those who reported pain the first year, 54% were pain free at least once during the follow-up period. Most of the pain at specific body locations was intermittent. Factors associated with remission of pain over 5 years included older age, male sex, better self-rated health, not being obese, taking fewer medications, and having fewer depressive symptoms. Approximately half of those with pain reported fewer pain locations the following year. CONCLUSION: Musculoskeletal pain in older adults, despite high prevalence, is often intermittent. The findings refute the notion that pain is an inevitable, unremitting, or progressive consequence of aging.
OBJECTIVES: To characterize longitudinal patterns of musculoskeletal pain in a community sample of older adults over a 6-year period and to identify factors associated with persistence of pain. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of the Cardiovascular Health Study. SETTING: Community-based cohort drawn from four U.S. counties. PARTICIPANTS: Five thousand ninety-three men and women aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Over a 6-year period, pain was assessed each year using a single question about the presence of pain in any bones or joints during the last year. If affirmative, participants were queried about pain in seven locations (hands, shoulders, neck, back, hips, knees, feet). Participants were categorized according to the percentage of time that pain was present and according to the intermittent or chronic pattern of pain. Factors associated with persistent pain during five remaining years of the study were identified. RESULTS: Over 6 years, 32% of participants reported pain for three or more consecutive years, and 32% reported pain intermittently. Of those who reported pain the first year, 54% were pain free at least once during the follow-up period. Most of the pain at specific body locations was intermittent. Factors associated with remission of pain over 5 years included older age, male sex, better self-rated health, not being obese, taking fewer medications, and having fewer depressive symptoms. Approximately half of those with pain reported fewer pain locations the following year. CONCLUSION:Musculoskeletal pain in older adults, despite high prevalence, is often intermittent. The findings refute the notion that pain is an inevitable, unremitting, or progressive consequence of aging.
Authors: Heather E Whitson; Stephen Thielke; Paula Diehr; Ann M O'Hare; Paulo H M Chaves; Neil A Zakai; Alice Arnold; Sarwat Chaudhry; Diane Ives; Anne B Newman Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2011-02-02 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: S G Leveille; S Ling; M C Hochberg; H E Resnick; K J Bandeen-Roche; A Won; J M Guralnik Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2001-12-18 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: Gary J Macfarlane; Marcus Beasley; Elizabeth A Jones; Gordon J Prescott; Rachael Docking; Philip Keeley; John McBeth; Gareth T Jones Journal: Pain Date: 2011-10-05 Impact factor: 6.961
Authors: Suzanne G Leveille; Richard N Jones; Dan K Kiely; Jeffrey M Hausdorff; Robert H Shmerling; Jack M Guralnik; Douglas P Kiel; Lewis A Lipsitz; Jonathan F Bean Journal: JAMA Date: 2009-11-25 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Sandra F Simmons; John F Schnelle; Avantika A Saraf; Chris Simon Coelho; J Mary Lou Jacobsen; Sunil Kripalani; Susan Bell; Amanda Mixon; Eduard E Vasilevskis Journal: Gerontologist Date: 2015-07-16
Authors: Babette C van der Zwaard; Henriëtte E van der Horst; Dirk L Knol; Benedicte Vanwanseele; Petra J M Elders Journal: Ann Fam Med Date: 2014 Sep-Oct Impact factor: 5.166
Authors: Joseph W Shega; Melissa Andrew; Ashwin Kotwal; Denys T Lau; Keela Herr; Mary Ersek; Debra K Weiner; Marshall H Chin; William Dale Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2013-12-09 Impact factor: 5.562