Max J Åström1, Mikaela B von Bonsdorff2, Maija Haanpää3, Minna K Salonen4, Hannu Kautiainen5, Johan G Eriksson6. 1. Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland; Vaasa Central Hospital, Vaasa, Finland. Electronic address: max.astrom@helsinki.fi. 2. Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland; Gerontology Research Center and Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland. 3. Department of Neurosurgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Vantaa, Finland. 4. Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Public Health Solutions, Public Health Promotion Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. 5. Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland. 6. Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Folkhälsan Research Center, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Public Health Solutions, Public Health Promotion Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore; Obstetrics & Gynecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Abstract
AIMS: To assess if individuals with diabetes or prediabetes report more pain or have increased use of pain medication compared to normoglycaemic individuals. METHODS: Using cross-sectional data, we studied 928 men and 1075 women from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study in 2001-2004 at a mean age of 61.5 years. Glucose regulation was assessed with a 2-h 75 g oral glucose tolerance test, and applying World Health Organization criteria, participants were defined as having normoglycaemia, prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance), newly diagnosed diabetes or previously diagnosed diabetes. Self-reported pain intensity and interference during the previous 4 weeks was estimated using the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0. Information on use of pain medication during the past 12 months was obtained from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. RESULTS: There was no difference in pain intensity or interference between glucose regulation groups for neither men nor women after adjusting for covariates (age, body mass index, education years, Beck Depression Inventory and physical activity). In addition, use of pain medication was similar between glucose regulation groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although pain is a common symptom in the general population, impairments in glucose regulation alone does not seem to increase pain among older individuals.
AIMS: To assess if individuals with diabetes or prediabetes report more pain or have increased use of pain medication compared to normoglycaemic individuals. METHODS: Using cross-sectional data, we studied 928 men and 1075 women from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study in 2001-2004 at a mean age of 61.5 years. Glucose regulation was assessed with a 2-h 75 g oral glucose tolerance test, and applying World Health Organization criteria, participants were defined as having normoglycaemia, prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance), newly diagnosed diabetes or previously diagnosed diabetes. Self-reported pain intensity and interference during the previous 4 weeks was estimated using the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0. Information on use of pain medication during the past 12 months was obtained from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. RESULTS: There was no difference in pain intensity or interference between glucose regulation groups for neither men nor women after adjusting for covariates (age, body mass index, education years, Beck Depression Inventory and physical activity). In addition, use of pain medication was similar between glucose regulation groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although pain is a common symptom in the general population, impairments in glucose regulation alone does not seem to increase pain among older individuals.