Pain Symptoms and Physical Performance in Older Adults: Cross-sectional Findings from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS)

Overview

Journal Eur Geriatr Med

Specialty Geriatrics

Date 2023 Nov 22

PMID 37991708

Authors

Edmilson Gomes da Silva Junior

Cristiano Dos Santos Gomes

Nailton Jose Neto

Juliana Fernandes de Souza Barbosa

Carmen-Lucia Curcio

Tamer Ahmed

Mohammad Auais

Alvaro Campos Cavalcanti Maciel

Ricardo Oliveira Guerra

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the associations between pain and physical performance in different aging contexts.

Methods: Data from 1725 older adults from Canada, Brazil, Colombia, and Albania from the 2014 wave of the IMIAS were used to assess the associations between Back Pain (BP) or Lower Limb Pain (LLP) and physical performance by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Three binary logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age, study site, education, income sufficiency, BMI, depressive symptoms, and chronic conditions were used to estimate the associations between LLP or BP and SPPB. The SPPB was classified into good performance (8 points or more) and poor physical performance (< 8 points).

Results: The mean age of the older men was 71.2 (± 3.0) and the mean age of the women was 71.2 (± 2.8) years. Older men (72.8%, p < 0.05) and women (86.1%, p-value < 0.05) from Albania had the highest frequencies of self-reported general pain. Older women in Colombia had the highest frequencies of LLP or BP (33.5%, p-value < 0.05). In the fully adjusted logistic regression model, LLP or BP was significantly associated with poor SPPB (OR = 0.48, 0.35 to 0.66 95% CI, p < 0.01).

Conclusions: Pain symptoms are associated with reduced physical performance in older people, even when adjusted for other clinical and sociodemographic factors. Protocols for aiming to increase the level of physical activity to manage pain should be incorporated into health care strategies.

References

Loeser J, Melzack R . Pain: an overview. Lancet. 1999; 353(9164):1607-9. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(99)01311-2. View

Ritchie C, Patel K, Boscardin J, Miaskowski C, Vranceanu A, Whitlock E . Impact of persistent pain on function, cognition, and well-being of older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2022; 71(1):26-35. PMC: 9871006. DOI: 10.1111/jgs.18125. View

Wegener S, Castillo R, Haythornthwaite J, MacKenzie E, Bosse M . Psychological distress mediates the effect of pain on function. Pain. 2011; 152(6):1349-1357. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2011.02.020. View

Hsu F, Kritchevsky S, Liu Y, Kanaya A, Newman A, Perry S . Association between inflammatory components and physical function in the health, aging, and body composition study: a principal component analysis approach. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2009; 64(5):581-9. PMC: 2800809. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glp005. View

Pavasini R, Guralnik J, Brown J, Bari M, Cesari M, Landi F . Short Physical Performance Battery and all-cause mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Med. 2016; 14(1):215. PMC: 5178082. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-016-0763-7. View

Kendall J, Boyle E, Hartvigsen J, Hvid L, Azari M, Skjodt M . Neck pain, concerns of falling and physical performance in community-dwelling Danish citizens over 75 years of age: A cross-sectional study. Scand J Public Health. 2016; 44(7):695-701. DOI: 10.1177/1403494816666414. View

Fowler-Brown A, Wee C, Marcantonio E, Ngo L, Leveille S . The mediating effect of chronic pain on the relationship between obesity and physical function and disability in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013; 61(12):2079-2086. PMC: 3973183. DOI: 10.1111/jgs.12512. View

Fernandes S, Sales W, Tavares D, Pereira D, Nobrega P, Holanda C . Relationship between Pain, Fear of Falling and Physical Performance in Older People Residents in Long-Stay Institutions: A Cross-Sectional Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(19). PMC: 9566497. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191912014. View

Shankar A, McMunn A, Demakakos P, Hamer M, Steptoe A . Social isolation and loneliness: Prospective associations with functional status in older adults. Health Psychol. 2016; 36(2):179-187. DOI: 10.1037/hea0000437. View

10.

Gomez F, Zunzunegui M, Alvarado B, Curcio C, Pirkle C, Guerra R . Cohort Profile: The International Mobility In Aging Study (IMIAS). Int J Epidemiol. 2018; 47(5):1393-1393h. PMC: 6208274. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyy074. View

11.

de Alencar Caldas V, Zunzunegui M, Freire A, Guerra R . Translation, cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Leganés cognitive test in a low educated elderly Brazilian population. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2012; 70(1):22-7. DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x2012000100006. View

12.

Belanger E, Perez-Zepeda M, Castrejon-Perez R, Ahmed T, Moullec G, Phillips S . Domains and determinants of a person-centered index of aging well in Canada: a mixed-methods study. Can J Public Health. 2018; 109(5-6):855-865. PMC: 6964391. DOI: 10.17269/s41997-018-0114-x. View

13.

Treacy D, Hassett L . The Short Physical Performance Battery. J Physiother. 2017; 64(1):61. DOI: 10.1016/j.jphys.2017.04.002. View

14.

Van Den Berg M, Sherrington C, Killington M, Smith S, Bongers B, Hassett L . Video and computer-based interactive exercises are safe and improve task-specific balance in geriatric and neurological rehabilitation: a randomised trial. J Physiother. 2015; 62(1):20-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.jphys.2015.11.005. View

15.

Freire A, Guerra R, Alvarado B, Guralnik J, Zunzunegui M . Validity and reliability of the short physical performance battery in two diverse older adult populations in Quebec and Brazil. J Aging Health. 2012; 24(5):863-78. DOI: 10.1177/0898264312438551. View

16.

Perez-Zepeda M, Belanger E, Zunzunegui M, Phillips S, Ylli A, Guralnik J . Assessing the Validity of Self-Rated Health with the Short Physical Performance Battery: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the International Mobility in Aging Study. PLoS One. 2016; 11(4):e0153855. PMC: 4835060. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153855. View

17.

Lewinsohn P, Seeley J, Roberts R, Allen N . Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) as a screening instrument for depression among community-residing older adults. Psychol Aging. 1997; 12(2):277-87. DOI: 10.1037//0882-7974.12.2.277. View

18.

Ros L, Latorre J, Aguilar M, Serrano J, Navarro B, Ricarte J . Factor structure and psychometric properties of the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) in older populations with and without cognitive impairment. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2011; 72(2):83-110. DOI: 10.2190/AG.72.2.a. View

19.

Holt S, Waterfield J . Cultural aspects of pain: A study of Indian Asian women in the UK. Musculoskeletal Care. 2018; 16(2):260-268. DOI: 10.1002/msc.1229. View

20.

Bates M, Edwards T, Anderson K . Ethnocultural influences on variation in chronic pain perception. Pain. 1993; 52(1):101-112. DOI: 10.1016/0304-3959(93)90120-E. View