PAKISTAN: Pain Common In Old Age

ISLAMABAD (Online International/Pak Tribune), November 30, 2005: For many 70-year-olds, pain is very much a part of getting older, researchers from Sweden report. In a new study, women were more likely than men to experience pain. But pain was associated with symptoms of depression more often in men, the study found. "The present study showed that pain is very common in 70-year-old people, especially in women," a team led by Dr. Ingrid Bergh, of Goteborg University, concludes in the October issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. This may be especially important in men, according to the researchers. Many studies have found that the elderly often experience pain, and some studies have suggested that chronic pain is associated with symptoms of depression. To get an idea of how common pain is in the elderly, as well as to test the association between depression and pain, Berghs team evaluated 241 people who were 70 years old. Most people in the study had experienced pain within the previous two weeks, the researchers report, although pain was more common in women. Seventy-nine percent of women had recently experienced pain compared with 53 percent of men. Women also reported more frequent pain episodes than men. In both sexes, pain occurred most often in the lower back. Women were more likely than men to report pain in the upper back, shoulders, arms, hands and knees. Although some studies have linked pain to reduced mental function, there was no such connection in this study. Pain was associated with symptoms of depression, however. Although women were more likely to have symptoms of depression than men, the association between duration of pain and symptoms of depression was strongest in men. "Our findings suggest that clinicians should screen for depression in an elderly patient who presents with pain," Bergh’s team recommends. Future studies should deal with the possible differences between men and women and with the effect pain has on daily living, the authors conclude.