Keywords :
Chronic pain, Depression, Elderly patients, Pain and activities of daily living, Pain assessment, Pain prevalence
Citation Information :
Kotekar N, Matche P, Manjunath D, Pereira P. Assessment of Prevalence and Characteristics of Pain and Its Association with Quality of Life in Elderly. J Recent Adv Pain 2018; 4 (3):100-104.
Background: Last century has witnessed great advancement in the medical field which has resulted in a significant increase in mean survival age. Elderly population present with increased incidence certain pain syndromes increases. Despite this pain is often underreported in elderly patients due to incorrect belief that pain is a normal process of aging. Pain is a serious concern especially in the later years of life, however, very little is known about its incidence in elderly patients. This is due to a lack of systematic epidemiological surveys considering pain as a physiological problem in the elderly.
The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of pain in the geriatric population, to assess the characteristics of pain and to study its association with depression and functional mobility.
Methods: This was a prospective study, in which a questionnaire concerning pain and multidimensional assessment tools for depression and functional mobility was administered to 200 patients above 65 years of age visiting the Geriatric Clinic of Department of Medicine.
Results: Prevalence of pain was found to be 69.5%, i.e., 139 patients experienced pain out of 200. Amongst the patients who suffered from pain, 79% of the patients complained of the musculoskeletal type of pain, the majority of it being knee joint pain followed by low back pain, 12% suffered from neuropathic pain and 9% suffered from a mixed type of pain. The intensity of pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS) score. 21% of the patients had mild pain, 65% had moderate pain and 14 % had severe pain. It was found that 13% of patients experienced pain for less than 1 year, 21% had pain between 1and 2 years, 38% experienced pain for 2–3 years and 28% of them had pain for more than 3 years. Our study showed a positive correlation between depression and duration of pain, i.e., an increase in the duration of pain increases depression scores. We found a negative correlation between functional mobility and duration of pain, i.e., as the duration of pain increases, the functional mobility decreases.
Conclusion: Assessment and treatment of prolonged and persistent pain in the elderly is challenging. As the patient’s age, the prevalence of pain increases. The consequences of chronic pain in the elderly include impaired activities of daily living (ADLs) and ambulation, depression all of which result in poor quality of life.
Kaye AD, Baluch A, Scott JT. Pain management in the elderly population: a review. Ochsner J. 2010;10(3):179-187.
Sofaer B, Walker J. Mood assessment in chronic pain patients. Disability and Rehabilitation. 1994;16(1):35-38.
Schofield P. The Assessment of Pain in Older People: UK National Guidelines. Age and Ageing. 2018;47(suppl_1):i1-i22.
Hadjistavropoulos T, Herr K, Turk DC, Fine PG, Dworkin RH, Helme R, et al. An interdisciplinary expert consensus statement on assessment of pain in older persons. Clin J Pain. 2007;23(Suppl 1):S1-43.
Abdulla A, Adams N, Bone M, Elliott AM, Gaffin J, Jones D, et al. Guidance on the management of pain in older people. Age Ageing. 2013;42(Suppl 1):i1-57.
Asghari A, Ghaderi N, Ashory A. The prevalence of pain among residents of nursing homes and the impact of pain on their mood and quality of life. Arch Iran Med. 2006;9:368-373.
Boerlage AA, van Dijk M, Stronks DL, de Wit R, van Der Rijt CCD. Pain prevalence and characteristics in three Dutch residential homes. Eur J Pain. 2008;12(7):910-916.
Reis LA, de Vasconcelos Torres G. Influência da dor crônica na capacidade funcional de idosos institucionalizados. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem. 2011 Jan 1;64(2):274-280.
McClean WJ, Higginbotham NH. Prevalence of pain among nursing home residents in rural New South Wales. Med J Aust. 2002;177(1):17-20.
Tsai YF, Tsai HH, Lai YH, Chu TL. Pain prevalence, experiences and management strategies among the elderly in Taiwanese nursing homes. J Pain Symptom Manag. 2004;28(6):579-584.
Bergh I, Steen G, Waern M, Johansson B, Odén A, Sjöström B, et al. Pain and its relation to cognitive function and depressive symptoms: A Swedish population study of 70-yearold men and women. J Pain Symptom Manag 2003;26:903-912.
Cicekci E, Ozisler Z, Ozel S, Unsal-Delialioglu S, Ozisler C. The Factors of Musculoskeletal Pain in Geriatric Patients and the Relationship between Pain and Quality of Life. International Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2017;8(8):504-513.
Yu H, Tang F, Kuo B, Yu S. Prevalence, Interference, and Risk Factors for Chronic Pain Among Taiwanese Community Older People. Pain Management Nursing. 2006;7(1):2-11.
Bergman S, Herrstrom P, Hogstrom K, Petersson IF, Svensson B, Jacobsson LT. Chronic musculoskeletal pain, prevalence rates, and sociodemographic associations in a Swedish population study. J Rheumatol. 2001;28:1369-1377.
Gokkaya NK, Gokce-Kutsal Y, Borman P, Ceceli E, Dogan A, Eyigor S, et al. Pain and quality of life (QoL) in elderly: the Turkish experience. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2012;55:357-362.
Antonopoulou MD, Alegakis AK, Hadjipavlou AG, Lionis CD. Studying the association between musculoskeletal disorders, quality of life and mental health. A primary care pilot study in rural Crete, Greece. BMC musculoskeletal disorders. 2009 Dec;10(1):143.
Kamaleri Y, Natvig B, Ihlebaek CM, Benth JS, Bruusgaard D. Number of pain sites is associated with demographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors in the general population. Eur J Pain. 2008;12(6):742-748.
Zaza C, Baine N. Cancer pain and psychosocial factors: A critical review of the literature. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2002;24:526-542.
Ornstein K, Aldridge M, Garrido M, Gorges R, Meier D, Kelley A. Association Between Hospice Use and Depressive Symptoms in Surviving Spouses. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2015;175(7):1138.
Kelsen D, Portenoy R, Thaler H, Niedzwiecki D, Passik S, Tao Y et al. Pain and depression in patients with newly diagnosed pancreas cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 1995;13(3):748-755.
Santos K, Cendoroglo M, Santos F. Anxiety disorder in elderly persons with chronic pain: frequency and associations. Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia. 2017;20(1):91-98.
Mayberg H, Lozano A, Voon V, McNeely H, Seminowicz D, Hamani C et al. Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment- Resistant Depression. Neuron. 2005;45(5):651-660.
Horgas A, Yoon S, Nichols A, Marsiske M. The relationship between pain and functional disability in Black and White older adults. Research in Nursing & Health. 2008;31(4):341-354.
