Open Access(644) Pain Experience Over 2 Years Among Older, Independently Living, Retirement Community Residents
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1046/j.1526-4637.2000.000024-43.x
Subject(s) - medicine , physical therapy , rehabilitation , activities of daily living , mcgill pain questionnaire , longitudinal study , brief pain inventory , chronic pain , visual analogue scale , pathology
Authors: Jana M. Mossey, Rollin M. Gallagher, Sunil Verma, MCP Hahnemann University, Graduate Hospital Comprehensive Pain and Rehabilitation Center A 2‐year study of 232 affluent, independently living residents from 25 Philadelphia retirement communities has provided a unique opportunity to investigate the longitudinal pain experience of older individuals. The study included repeated self reports of pain and pain sites. In‐person interviews occurred at study enrollment and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months later. Three questions adapted from the McGill Questionnaire addressing the occurrence of pain, the number of very bad pain days, and the presence of associated activity interference allowed identification of 2‐year pain experience profiles for 161 individuals with 5 completed interviews. Mean age was 80 years (SD=5.9); 18% were male. Remarkable consistency was observed in individual reported pain experiences over time. Seventeen participants (9%) reported either no or mild pain without interference at all interviews. 27 (15%) reported this pain experience at 4 interviews. At a fifth, severe pain without interference was reported. In contrast, 25 individuals (13%) reported severe, persistent pain and extensive activity interference at all 5 interviews. Nineteen (10%) reported less severe but interfering pain at each interview. Between these extremes, 35 individuals (19%) reported mild to moderate pain at most interviews but associated interference at one. Fifty‐two subjects (29%) consistently reported moderate to severe pain and interference at 2 or 3 interviews. Pain profile groups were similar according to age, gender, and pain sites (Most common: back, extremities, and joints). Statistically significant differences ( P <.01) were observed between pain experience profiles for depressive symptoms, physical functioning, self‐reported health, and number of comorbid conditions. Expectedly, scores on these factors were poorest among the more serious, chronic pain experience profiles. The large proportion with severe, chronic or intermittent interfering pain (52%) suggests present pain treatment approaches and services are not effective. This is especially challenging since this affluent study population had excellent access to health resources.