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Title: MOTIVATE: Moving to Improve Chronic Back Pain and Depression in Older Adults Investigator: Una Makris, MD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Overview: The overarching goal of this study is to evaluate a tele-based behavioral change intervention for older adults (aged 50 years and older) with chronic low back pain (cLBP) and comorbid depression, and to ultimately assess its effect on cLBP-related disability and depressive symptoms. Investigators will conduct a pilot randomized control trial to assess feasibility for older adults with chronic low back pain and depression to receive a behavioral change tele-based intervention delivered by a health coach trained in [...]

Interventions to Reduce Opioid Use for Pain Management in the Older Adult Population: A Systematic Review This systematic review sought to provide an overview of the best available evidence to address the following review question: What interventions are being conducted to reduce opioid use among older adults ages 65+ years? Five databases were searched for publications from 2005 through 2019, and articles were evaluated by two independent reviewers. The articles selected were related to the search inclusion/exclusion criteria, quality/risk of bias, and ultimately the strength of evidence with a goal of informing clinical practice. In total, 1,105 articles were evaluated. [...]

Relationship between acute pain trajectories after an emergency department visit and chronic pain: A Canadian prospective cohort study  Inadequate acute pain management can reduce the quality of life, cause unnecessary suffering, and lead to the development of chronic pain. Using group-based trajectory modelling, the authors previously identified six distinct pain intensity trajectories for the first 14-day post emergency department discharge. Two linear ones with moderate or severe pain during follow-up and four cubic polynomial trajectories with mild or no pain at the end of the 14 days. The authors assessed if previously described acute pain intensity trajectories over 14 days [...]

An exploration of the effectiveness of a peer-led pain management program (PAP) for nursing home residents with chronic pain and an evaluation of their experiences: A pilot randomized controlled trial 80% of nursing home residents have reported chronic pain, which is often accepted by older adults as part of aging. Peer support models are being used to help individuals manage their chronic conditions and overcome the challenges of limited healthcare resources. The aims of this study were: (i) to examine the effectiveness of a 12 week peer-led pain management program (PAP) for nursing home residents and (ii) to evaluate their [...]

Chronic pain and friendship among middle-aged and older U.S. adults Friendship plays a vital role in individuals’ well-being across the life span. Recent studies suggest that friendship in adulthood and older age is as important as family ties in predicting psychological well-being, physical health, and cognitive function. A small but growing number of studies examine the reverse association: how health conditions shape the ability to develop and maintain friendships in later life. Thus far, studies in this area come to seemingly opposite conclusions: some suggest that declining health leads to reduced engagement with nonfamily members (e.g., Sander, Schupp, & Richter, [...]

Persistent, consistent, and extensive: The trend of increasing pain prevalence in older americans Assess trends in pain prevalence from 1992 to 2014 among older U.S. adults and by major population subgroups and test whether the trends can be explained by changes in population composition. Pain is a major population-health problem, especially among older adults. About 100 million U.S. adults experience chronic pain, a number greater than those affected by heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. For the nation, the economic burden of pain is enormous, having been estimated at $600 billion. For individuals, pain is unmistakably a determinant of quality [...]

Chronic pain is a major health problem among older adults and their informal caregivers, which has negative effects on their physical and psychological status. The dyadic pain management program (DPMP) is provided to community-dwelling older adults and informal caregivers to help the dyads reduce pain symptoms, improve the quality of life, develop good exercise habits, as well as cope and break the vicious circle of pain. A pilot randomized controlled trial was designed and all the dyads were randomly divided into two groups, the DPMP group and control group. Dyads in the DPMP group participated in an 8-week DPMP (4-week [...]

Both persistent pain and cognitive decline increase in prevalence with advancing age and are associated with functional decline. The association of pain and cognitive decline has not been evaluated yet by a systematic assessment of longitudinal studies. This study aimed to assess the association of persistent pain as a risk factor for cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults, using data from longitudinal studies in a systematic review and meta-analysis. Publications were identified using a systematic search on PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases from inception to June 2019. Because heterogeneity across studies was high, the authors used random-effects meta-analysis to [...]