(Press-News.org) ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA – Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is primarily associated with the respiratory symptoms that are its hallmark, but in fact, patients who struggle with the disease also experience significant amounts of chronic pain. A new study conducted by researchers in Pennsylvania and New Mexico estimates the degree of pain suffered by these patients to be close to that experienced by patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The research results will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference.
"Several studies have found high rates of pain medication use among COPD patients, and pain has also been an important determinant of overall health status and quality of life in COPD," said study lead author Melissa Roberts, MS, senior research associate at the Lovelace Clinic Foundation in Albuquerque and a doctoral candidate at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy.
"In prior studies, we had observed increased narcotic and non-narcotic pain medication use among individuals with COPD and were interested in whether this was because the COPD population tends to be older and have more comorbidities, or whether there might be an association between COPD and pain above and beyond what age and comorbidities might explain," she said. "In this study, we chose to compare chronic pain in individuals with COPD and individuals with chronic conditions that similarly affect multiple body systems."
The retrospective study used data gathered from 7,952 COPD patients and 15,904 non-COPD patients over the age of 40 who were enrolled in a managed care system in the southwestern United States from 2006 through 2010. The presence of pain was determined by pain-associated diagnosis codes, the use of pain therapy and outpatient prescription claims for pain medication, and recurrent therapy and prescriptions were considered evidence of chronic pain.
The researchers found that compared to those with non-COPD chronic disease, a greater number of patients with COPD had some indication of chronic pain and use of pain-related medications, including both short-acting and long-acting opioids. However, chronic pain was not associated with lung function impairment among the study patients, suggesting the causes of pain are not directly associated with airflow obstruction. The only subset of patients with greater prevalence of chronic pain and use of pain medication were patients with either rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.
"We found the prevalence of chronic pain among adults with chronic disease to be almost twice as high as among individuals without chronic disease," Ms. Roberts noted. "Among those with chronic disease, individuals with COPD were similar to those with rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis in their experience of pain, but with even greater use of opioids."
An investigation of the incremental costs associated with chronic pain is under way, she noted.
"The socioeconomic impact of chronic pain on patients with COPD is also an understudied issue, and many health care organizations conduct management programs for chronic diseases which significantly impact quality of life," Ms. Roberts said. "Among individuals with COPD, pain may be having a marked impact on their quality of life, potentially as much as their respiratory disease, and contributing significantly to their cost of care."
###
* Please note that numbers in this release may differ slightly from those in the abstract. Many of these investigations are ongoing; the release represents the most up-to-date data available at press time.
Abstract 40849
Chronic Pain Among Individuals With COPD As Compared To Other Chronic Diseases
Type: Scientific Abstract
Category: 09.03 - COPD: Comorbidities (CP)
Authors: M.H. Roberts1, D.W. Mapel1, A. Hartry2, A. Von Worley1, H. Thomson2; 1Lovelace Clinic Foundation - Albuquerque, NM/US, 2Endo Pharmaceuticals - Chadds Ford, PA/US
Abstract Body
Rationale. Several studies have found high rates of pain medication use among COPD patients. Pain has also been an important determinant of overall health status and quality of life in COPD. This project's objective was to describe chronic pain prevalence among COPD patients as compared to similar patients with other chronic diseases, and to compare factors associated with chronic pain in a matched analysis of COPD and non-COPD patients, supplemented by a sub-analysis of patients with spirometry information.
Methods: In this retrospective analysis (1/1/2006 through 12/31/2010) of managed care system enrollees (age >40) in the Southwestern U.S. pain was indicated by pain-associated diagnosis codes, pain therapy, or outpatient prescription claims for pain medication; and recurrent occurrences of such utilization was considered evidence of chronic pain. Patients were matched on age, sex, insurance coverage, type of healthcare encounter, and encounter date (+/- 6 months).
Results: Adjusted prevalence rates were similar across all study years; for brevity, rates for 2010 are stated. A higher percentage of those with COPD compared to those with non-COPD chronic disease had some indication of chronic pain (61.8% vs 53.9%, P END
Study shows COPD is associated with significant and persistent pain
2013-05-21
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Inflammation is associated with depression in COPD patients
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ Depression is common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has been linked with disease severity and impaired quality of life. Now, for the first time, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have linked the systemic inflammation associated with COPD with depression in these patients.
"Systemic inflammation is thought to be an important mediator of comorbidities in COPD, but the relationship between inflammation and depression has not been explored," said researcher Hilary Strollo, M.S., a graduate of the ...
Sexual function in older adults with thoracolumbar–pelvic instrumentation
2013-05-21
Charlottesville, VA (May 21, 2013). Surgeons investigated sexual function in 62 patients, 50 years and older, who had received extensive spinal–pelvic instrumentation for spinal deformity at the University of Virginia Health Center. Based on their results, the surgeons found that it is very possible for older people to achieve satisfactory sexual function despite having extensive spinal–pelvic instrumentation. Details of this study are disclosed in "Sexual function in older adults following thoracolumbar to pelvic instrumentation for spinal deformity. Clinical article," ...
Exercise levels may predict hospitalizations in COPD population
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ Clinical measurement of physical activity appears to be an independent predictor of whether or not patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will end up being hospitalized, according to a new study conducted by researchers in Connecticut. The study also corroborates an earlier investigation that linked higher levels of inactivity with an increased incidence of hospitalizations among patients with COPD.
The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference.
"Physical inactivity is common in ...
Monoclonal antibody appears effective and safe in asthma Phase IIa trial
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ─ A novel approach to obstructing the runaway inflammatory response implicated in some types of asthma has shown promise in a Phase IIa clinical trial, according to U. S. researchers.
Their research will be presented at the American Thoracic Society 2013 International Conference and published simultaneously online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested the efficacy and safety of the monoclonal antibody, dupilumab, in patients with "persistent, moderate-to-severe asthma" and elevated ...
Teens exposed to schoolmate's death by suicide much more likely to consider or attempt suicide
2013-05-21
Youth who had a schoolmate die by suicide are significantly more likely to consider or attempt suicide, according to a study in published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). This effect can last 2 years or more, which has implications for strategies following schoolmate suicides.
"We found that exposure to suicide predicts suicidality," writes senior author Dr. Ian Colman, Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Epidemiology and Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa, with lead author Sonja Swanson, from Harvard School of Public Health, Boston. "This was ...
Treatment with A1-PI slows the progression of emphysema in Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
2013-05-21
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA─Treatment with an Alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor (A1-PI), a naturally occurring protein that protects lung tissue from breakdown and protects the lung's elasticity, is effective in slowing the progression of emphysema in patients with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a life-threatening genetic disorder, according to a new study presented at the 2013 American Thoracic Society International Conference.
The study showed the efficacy of A1-PIin preventing the loss of lung tissue as measured by computed tomography (CT) scan lung density at ...
Small but speedy: Short plants live in the evolutionary fast lane
2013-05-21
Durham, NC — Biologists have known for a long time that some creatures evolve more quickly than others. Exactly why isn't well understood, particularly for plants. But it may be that height plays a role, says Robert Lanfear of Australian National University and the U. S. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center.
In a study to be published 21 May in the journal Nature Communications, Lanfear and colleagues report that shorter plants have faster-changing genomes.
Drawing from a database of global patterns in plant height for more than 20,000 species, the researchers estimated ...
Genetic predictors of postpartum depression uncovered by Hopkins researchers
2013-05-21
The epigenetic modifications, which alter the way genes function without changing the underlying DNA sequence, can apparently be detected in the blood of pregnant women during any trimester, potentially providing a simple way to foretell depression in the weeks after giving birth, and an opportunity to intervene before symptoms become debilitating.
The findings of the small study involving 52 pregnant women are described online in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
"Postpartum depression can be harmful to both mother and child," says study leader Zachary Kaminsky, Ph.D., ...
Child maltreatment increases risk of adult obesity
2013-05-21
Children who have suffered maltreatment are 36% more likely to be obese in adulthood compared to non-maltreated children, according to a new study by King's College London. The authors estimate that the prevention or effective treatment of 7 cases of child maltreatment could avoid 1 case of adult obesity.
The findings come from the combined analysis of data from 190,285 individuals from 41 studies worldwide, published this week in Molecular Psychiatry.
Severe childhood maltreatment (physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect) affects approximately 1 in 5 children ...
Origins of human culture linked to rapid climate change
2013-05-21
Rapid climate change during the Middle Stone Age, between 80,000 and 40,000 years ago, during the Middle Stone Age, sparked surges in cultural innovation in early modern human populations, according to new research.
The research, published this month in Nature Communications, was conducted by a team of scientists from Cardiff University's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, the Natural History Museum in London and the University of Barcelona.
The scientists studied a marine sediment core off the coast of South Africa and reconstructed terrestrial climate variability ...