PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Bothersome pain afflicts half of older Americans

Findings from a unique study underscore need for public health action on pain and disability in the elderly, reports PAIN®

2013-12-03
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Terry Materese
painmedia@elsevier.com
215-239-3196
Elsevier Health Sciences
Bothersome pain afflicts half of older Americans Findings from a unique study underscore need for public health action on pain and disability in the elderly, reports PAIN® Philadelphia, December 2, 2013 – More than half of older adults in the United States – an estimated 18.7 million people – have experienced bothersome pain in the previous month, impairing their physical function and underscoring the need for public health action on pain. Many of those interviewed by investigators for a study published in the current issue of PAIN® reported pain in multiple areas.

The interviews, which included assessments of cognitive and physical performance, were completed by trained survey research staff in the homes of study participants living in the community or in residential care facilities, such as retirement or assisted-living communities. "Pain is common in older adults and one of the major reasons why we start slowing down as we age," says lead investigator Kushang V. Patel, PhD, MPH, of the Center for Pain Research on Impact, Measurement, and Effectiveness in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Washington.

The researchers gained several insights from the new study:

Bothersome pain afflicts half of community-dwelling older adults in the United States. The majority of older adults with pain reported having pain in multiple locations, such as in the back, hips, and knees. The percentage of people with pain did not differ by age, even when researchers accounted for dementia and cognitive performance. Pain was strongly associated with decreased physical capacity. Older adults with pain, particularly those with pain in multiple locations, had weaker muscle strength, slower walking speed, and poorer overall function than those without pain.

The researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), which was designed to investigate multiple aspects of functioning in later life and is funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health. Investigators conducted in-person interviews with 7,601 adults ages 65 years and older who were enrolled in the NHATS in 2011. All were Medicare beneficiaries.

The overall prevalence of bothersome pain in the last month in the study group was 52.9%. Pain did not vary across age groups, and this pattern remained unchanged when accounting for cognitive performance, dementia, proxy responses, and residential-care living status. Pain prevalence was higher in women and in older adults with obesity, musculoskeletal conditions, and depressive symptoms. The majority (74.9%) of older adults with pain reported multiple sites of pain.

Several measures of physical capacity, including muscle strength and lower-extremity physical performance, were associated with pain and multisite pain. For example, self-reported inability to walk three blocks was 72% higher in participants with pain than without pain. Participants with one, two, three, and four or more sites were 41%, 57%, 81%, and 105% more likely to report inability to walk three blocks, respectively, than older adults without pain.

"Considering that pain is often poorly managed in the geriatric population, our findings underscore the need for public health action, including additional epidemiologic research and the development and translation of interventions aimed at improving pain and function in older adults," Patel concludes.

Population aging is occurring in nearly every country of the world. Not only are the number and proportion of older adults increasing globally, but the older adult population itself is getting older as well. Gains in life expectancy at older ages have fueled the rapid growth of the oldest-old segment of the population, although it is unclear whether improvements in functional status of older adults have kept pace. Since disability in late life is a major predictor of medical and social service needs, investigating risk factors for functional decline is a major public health priority. Today's published study in PAIN® by Patel and colleagues clearly identifies the high burden of pain in the older adult population.

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Mission possible: Simulation-based training and experimentation on display

2013-12-03
Mission possible: Simulation-based training and experimentation on display A unique system that merges the virtual and real worlds to train Sailors for combat scenarios was unveiled Dec. 2 in Orlando. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is demonstrating ...

NASA investigating the life of Comet ISON

2013-12-03
NASA investigating the life of Comet ISON After several days of continued observations, scientists continue to work to determine and to understand the fate of Comet ISON: There's no doubt that the comet shrank in size considerably as it rounded ...

Genetic mutation may play key role in risk of lethal prostate cancer in overweight patients

2013-12-03
Genetic mutation may play key role in risk of lethal prostate cancer in overweight patients Boston, MA — Obesity is associated with a worse prostate cancer prognosis among men whose tumors contain a specific genetic mutation, suggest results from a new study ...

NASA's HS3 hurricane mission called it a wrap for 2013

2013-12-03
NASA's HS3 hurricane mission called it a wrap for 2013 NASA's Hurricane and Severe Storms Sentinel airborne mission known as HS3 wrapped up for the 2013 Atlantic Ocean hurricane season at the end of September, and had several highlights. HS3 will return ...

SU biologist develops method for monitoring shipping noise in dolphin habitat

2013-12-03
SU biologist develops method for monitoring shipping noise in dolphin habitat Nathan Merchant is exploring the link between man-made noise and marine mammal populations A biologist in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences has developed a system of techniques for ...

Osteoporosis drugs compared for side effects, efficacy in Loyola study

2013-12-03
Osteoporosis drugs compared for side effects, efficacy in Loyola study A study comparing the efficacy and tolerability of two popular osteoporosis drugs, denosumab and zoledronic acid, found that denosumab had a significantly greater effect on increasing spine ...

Micromovements hold hidden information about severity of autism, researchers report

2013-12-03
Micromovements hold hidden information about severity of autism, researchers report INDIANAPOLIS -- Movements so minute they cannot be detected by the human eye are being analyzed by researchers to diagnose autism spectrum disorder and determine its severity in children and ...

Vitamin D decreases pain in women with type 2 diabetes and depression

2013-12-03
Vitamin D decreases pain in women with type 2 diabetes and depression Vitamin D decreases pain in women with type 2 diabetes and depression, according to a study conducted at Loyola University Chicago. These findings were presented at an Oct. 24, 2013 research ...

Airborne radar looking through thick ice during NASA polar campaigns

2013-12-03
Airborne radar looking through thick ice during NASA polar campaigns The bedrock hidden beneath the thick ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica has intrigued researchers for years. Scientists are interested in how the shape of this hidden terrain ...

New technique identifies pathogens in patient samples faster, in great detail

2013-12-03
New technique identifies pathogens in patient samples faster, in great detail A team of Danish investigators has shown how to identify pathogens faster, directly from clinical samples. The research, published online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

What are they vaping? Study reveals alarming surge in adolescent vaping of THC, CBD, and synthetic cannabinoids

ECMWF - delivering forecasts over 10 times faster and cutting energy usage by 1000

Brazilian neuroscientist reveals how viral infections transform the brain through microscopic detective work

Turning social fragmentation into action through discovering relatedness

Cheese may really be giving you nightmares, scientists find

Study reveals most common medical emergencies in schools

Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks

Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems

Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions

Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing

New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue

Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species

[Press-News.org] Bothersome pain afflicts half of older Americans
Findings from a unique study underscore need for public health action on pain and disability in the elderly, reports PAIN®