Click here to view the Today Show feature entitled "New therapy aims to cure back pain without drugs, surgery." This feature aired on November 9, 2023.
Abstract Background and objectives: Little is known about the prevalence of physical pain among family caregivers to older adults. We used national survey data to assess the relative prevalence of caregivers' arthritis and activity-limiting bothersome pain by caregiver and care recipient characteristics to identify which caregivers may be at a higher risk for physical pain. Research design and methods: We analyzed data collected from 1,930 caregivers who participated in the National Study on Caregiving (2017). We utilized modified Poisson models to estimate adjusted associations of caregiver and care recipient characteristics with the relative prevalence of arthritis and bothersome pain. Results: 40% of caregivers had [...]
Special Issue: Translational Research on Pain and Pain Management in Later Life Co-Editors: Cary Reid, PhD, MD, and Karl Pillemer, PhD, FGSA Chronic pain is a common, morbid, and costly disorder that disproportionately affects older adults. Innovation in Aging invites submissions for empirical papers and systematic or scoping reviews that contribute new insights and knowledge on geriatric pain issues related to its impact, prevention, detection, and management. Studies that advance our understanding of how to best assess and manage later-life pain and educate providers, older adults, and caregivers on how to perform these tasks will be particularly welcome. Further, nonpharmacologic approaches to [...]
Risk of fractures in older adults with chronic non-cancer pain receiving concurrent benzodiazepines and opioids: A nested case–control study. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the concurrent use of benzodiazepines and opioids and the risk of fractures in older patients with chronic non-cancer pain. Methods: Patients with osteoarthritis or low back pain (≥ 65 years of age) included in the Korean National Health Insurance Service–National Sample Cohort database of Korea and with an incident diagnosis of hip, humeral, or forearm fracture between 2011 and 2015 were identified as cases. For each case, four controls were matched [...]
High prevalence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy in elderly patients with chronic pain receiving home care are associated with multiple medication-related problems Aim: To measure the extent of polypharmacy, multimorbidity and potential medication-related problems in elderly patients with chronic pain receiving home care. Methods: Data of 355 patients aged ≥65 years affected by chronic pain in home care who were enrolled in the ACHE study in Berlin, Germany, were analyzed. History of chronic diseases, diagnoses, medications including self-medication were collected for all patients. Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of ≥2 chronic conditions and levels were classified by the Charlson-Comorbidity-Index. Polypharmacy was defined as the concomitant [...]
Moderate to severe chronic pain in later life: risk and resilience factors for recovery Despite extensive research on the development and risk factors of chronic pain, the process of recovery from chronic pain in later life has been rarely studied. We estimated the recovery rate of moderate to severe chronic pain (chronic pain of moderate or severe severity or interfering with usual activities) among older adults and investigated predictors of recovery. Leveraging the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study 2006–2016 data (6 waves), we estimated the biennial national attrition-adjusted recovery rate of moderate to severe chronic pain among 6,132 US adults [...]
Social Contribution and Psychological Well-Being among Midlife Adults with Chronic Pain: A Longitudinal Approach Objectives: Contributing to the welfare of others has been shown to have positive effects on people's social and psychological well-being (PWB). The current study examined whether social contribution (SC) could alleviate the negative effects of chronic pain on PWB through perceived social support (PSS) among midlife and older adults. Methods: The study consisted of 520 participants with chronic pain from the two waves of the Midlife in the United States dataset (MIDUS II and III). Results: Results from the longitudinal moderated mediation analysis indicated that SC at Time 2 (T2) significantly [...]
The association between obesity and chronic pain among community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Chronic pain and obesity, both of which are common in older adults, can be obstacles to healthy aging because they impact critical domains of quality of life, such as physical functioning, mental wellness, and health. Obesity and chronic pain frequently coexist in the older population. Severe obesity in older adults doubled the likelihood that they also experience chronic pain. Clarifying the association between obesity and chronic pain is meaningful because obesity is associated with decreased physical functioning and increased pain-related disability. Thus, we conducted the [...]
Test-Retest Reliability of Pain Measures in Institutionalized Older Adults: Number of Painful Body Sites, Pain Intensity, and Pain Extent The reliability of pain assessment in frail and older adults has seldom been assessed. This study aims to assess the test-retest reliability of (1) the number of painful body sites, (2) pain intensity, and (3) pain extent in institutionalized older adults. Seventy-four older adults who were institutionalized were assessed in 2 separate sessions, 2 days to 1 week apart, for pain intensity, number of painful body sites, and pain extent (in pixels) using a vertical pain numeric scale (0 to 10), [...]
Adherence to and the Maintenance of Self-Management Behaviour in Older People with Musculoskeletal Pain-A Scoping Review and Theoretical Models. Adherence to and the maintenance of treatment regimens are fundamental for pain self-management and sustainable behavioural changes. The first aim was to study older adults' (>65 years) levels of adherence to and maintenance of musculoskeletal pain self-management programmes in randomized controlled trials. The second aim was to suggest theoretical models of adherence to and maintenance of a behaviour. The study was conducted in accordance with the recommendations for a scoping review and the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Capability, motivation and opportunity were used [...]
