Abstract
Objective
To establish if there is any gender difference in associations between chronic pain,
impact of pain and pain severity with physical disability.
Methods
Data from the New South Wales Older People's Health Survey (OPHS), a population based
survey of 8881 older people aged 65 years and above were used in the analysis. Chronic
pain, pain with interference and pain severity and outcome variable of physical disability
were all measured and determined by self report.
Results
Physical disability were more frequent in respondents reporting chronic pain, pain
that interferes with activities and pain that was of moderate and strong to severe
severity. Chronic pain was significantly associated with physical disability among
men with adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) 1.31 (95% CI 1.19, 1.43) and women with adjusted
prevalence ratio (PR) 1.34 (95% CI 1.28, 1.42). The relationships between pain with
interference and pain severity with physical disability were similar in older men
and older women. However, adjustment for psychological distress and self-rated health
led to greater reductions in prevalence ratios for older men than women for all associations.
Conclusion
There is no gender difference in associations between pain and physical disability
among older people. However, psychological distress accounted for more pain-related
physical disability in men than in women.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to MaturitasAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Physical performance characteristics related to disability in older persons: a systematic review.Maturitas. 2011; 69: 208-219
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Older Australia at a glance. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; 2007 [Contract No.: Document Number].
- Chronic pain in older persons: prevalence, assessment and management.Reviews in Clinical Gerontology. 2006; 16: 231-241
- Chronic pain in Australia: a prevalence study.Pain. 2001; 89: 127-134
- Chronic pain and obesity in elderly people: results from the Einstein aging study.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2009; 57: 115-119
- Gender moderates the association between depression and disability in chronic pain patients.European Journal of Pain. 2006; 10: 413-422
- Survey of chronic pain in Europe: prevalence, impact on daily life, and treatment.European Journal of Pain. 2006; 10: 287-333
- The association between noncancer pain, cognitive impairment, and functional disability: an analysis of the Canadian study of health and aging.The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2010; 65A: 880-886
- Pain and disability in older Mexican-American adults.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2009; 57: 992-999
- Sex, gender and pain: a review of recent clinical and experimental findings.The Journal of Pain. 2009; 10: 447-485
- Gender variations in clinical pain experience.Pain. 1996; 65: 123-167
- Sex-related differences in pain.Maturitas. 2009; 63: 292-296
- Epidemiology of musculoskeletal impairments and associated disability.American Journal of Public Health. 1984; 74: 574-579
- How does low back pain impact physical function in independent, well-functioning older adults? Evidence from the Health ABC Cohort and implications for the future.Pain Medicine. 2003; 4: 311-320
- Sex differences in pain and pain-related disability among primary care patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.Pain Medicine. 2010; 11: 232-239
- The relationship of gender to pain, pain behavior, and disability in osteoarthritis patients: the role of catastrophizing.Pain. 2000; 87: 325-334
- Comorbidity of pain-associated disability and depressive symptoms in connection with sociodemographic variables: results from a cross-sectional epidemiological survey in Hungary.Pain. 2001; 93: 115-121
- Studying sex and gender differences in pain and analgesia: a consensus report.Pain. 2007; 132: S26-S45
- Evidence for sex differences in the relationships of pain, mood, and disability.The Journal of Pain. 2006; 7: 592-601
Williamson M, Baker D, Jorm L. The NSW Health Survey Program: overview and methods 1996–2000. Sydney: NSW Department of Health; 2001 [Contract No.: Document Number].
- The effect of age on the onset of pain interference in a general population of older adults: prospective findings from the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (NorStOP).Pain. 2007; 129: 21-27
- SF-36 health survey: manual and interpretation guide.Nimrod Press, Boston1993
Lafortune GGB. Trends in severe disability among elderly people: assessing the evidence in 12 OECD countries and the future implications. OECD Health Working Papers, No 26. OECD Publishing; 2007.
- Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress.Psychological Medicine. 2002; 32: 959-976
Public Health Division. New South Wales Older People's Health Survey 1999. Sydney; 2000 [Contract No.: Document Number].
- Easy SAS calculations for risk or prevalence ratios and differences.American Journal of Epidemiology. 2005; 162: 199-200
- The impact of musculoskeletal hand problems in older adults: findings from the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (NorStOP).Rheumatology. 2007; 46: 963-967
- A comparison of the relationship between depression, perceived disability, and physical performance in persons with chronic pain.European Journal of Pain. 2008; 12: 757-764
- The performance of the K6 and K10 screening scales for psychological distress in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being.Psychological Medicine. 2003; 33: 357-362
- Should psychological distress screening in the community account for self-perceived health status?.Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2009; 54: 526-533
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 19, 2012
Accepted:
October 3,
2012
Received in revised form:
August 14,
2012
Received:
April 3,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
