Premium
Persistent Pain and Frailty: A Case for Homeostenosis
Author(s) -
Shega Joseph W.,
Dale William,
Andrew Melissa,
Paice Judith,
Rockwood Kenneth,
Weiner Debra K.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03769.x
Subject(s) - medicine , odds ratio , confidence interval , cross sectional study , logistic regression , physical therapy , odds , frailty syndrome , psychological intervention , risk factor , gerontology , frailty index , psychiatry , pathology
Objectives To compare the association between self‐reported moderate to severe pain and frailty. Design Cross‐sectional analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging Wave 2. Setting Community. Participants Representative sample of persons aged 65 and older in Canada. Measurements Pain (exposure) was categorized as no or very mild pain versus moderate or greater pain. Frailty (outcome) was operationalized as the accumulation of 33 possible self‐reported health attitudes, illnesses, and functional abilities, subsequently divided into tertiles (not frail, prefrail, and frail). Multivariable logistic regression assessed for the association between pain and frailty. Results Of participants who reported moderate or greater pain (35.5%, 1,765/4,968), 16.2% were not frail, 34.1% were prefrail, and 49.8% were frail. For persons with moderate or greater pain, the odds of being prefrail rather than not frail were higher by a factor of 2.52 (95% confidence interval ( CI ) = 2.13–2.99; P < .001). For persons with moderate or greater pain, the odds of being frail rather than not frail were higher by a factor of 5.52 (95% CI = 4.49–6.64 P < .001). Conclusion Moderate or higher pain was independently associated with frailty. Although causality cannot be ascertained in a cross‐sectional analysis, interventions to improve pain management may help prevent or ameliorate frailty.