Department of Family Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Shih-Pai Road Section 2, Taipei 11217, Taiwan.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2009 Dec;49 Suppl 2:S13-6. doi: 10.1016/S0167-4943(09)70006-8.
Pain is a common health-care issue, and the prevalence increases with advancing age. Although it is often assumed that people with chronic pain are associated with a higher consumption of health care, evidence supporting this assertion is insufficient. Data from the Longitudinal Older VEterans (LOVE) study were stratified to explore the prevalence of pain and its relationship with health-care utilization. In total, data from 574 residents (mean age: 80.9+/-5.4 years, all male) were obtained. Among them, 92.8% were physically independent and 20.2% of them had mild to moderate cognitive impairment. Overall, 153 (26.3%) subjects reported pain; 114 (74.5%) subjects with mild pain and the remaining 39 (25.5%) subjects with moderate pain. The most commonly reported pain was lower back pain (40.5%, 62/153), which was followed by joint pain (29.4%, 45/153). Subjects with pain were more likely to have higher scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale (2.4+/-2.4 vs. 1.8+/-2.2, p = 0.023) and care-complexity problems (4.7+/-2.0 vs. 3.9+/-1.9, p < 0.001), despite being similar in age (81.3+/-5.0 vs. 80.8+/-5.5, p = 0.271), cognitive status and physical independence. Compared with pain-free subjects, subjects with pain were more likely to be hospitalized in the 12-month study period (0.71+/-1.20 vs. 0.46+/-1.00, p = 0.010), but the utilization of emergency department treatment (1.74+/-1.23 vs. 1.88+/-1.63, p = 0.560) was not statistically significant. In conclusion, the prevalence of pain among residents in a Taiwanese veterans care home was 26.3%; subjects with pain having more depressive symptoms, higher clinical-care complexity, and more likely to be hospitalized during the 12-month follow-up.
疼痛是一个常见的健康问题，且其发病率随着年龄的增长而增加。尽管人们通常认为慢性疼痛患者需要更多的医疗保健，但支持这一说法的证据并不充分。来自纵向老年退伍军人（LOVE）研究的数据进行了分层，以探讨疼痛的流行情况及其与医疗保健利用之间的关系。总共获得了 574 名居民（平均年龄：80.9+/-5.4 岁，均为男性）的数据。其中，92.8%的人身体独立，20.2%的人有轻度至中度认知障碍。总体而言，有 153 名（26.3%）受试者报告有疼痛；114 名（74.5%）受试者为轻度疼痛，其余 39 名（25.5%）为中度疼痛。最常见的疼痛部位是下背部疼痛（40.5%，62/153），其次是关节疼痛（29.4%，45/153）。有疼痛的受试者在老年抑郁量表上的评分更高（2.4+/-2.4 与 1.8+/-2.2，p=0.023），且护理复杂性问题更多（4.7+/-2.0 与 3.9+/-1.9，p<0.001），尽管年龄（81.3+/-5.0 与 80.8+/-5.5，p=0.271）、认知状态和身体独立性相似。与无疼痛的受试者相比，疼痛受试者在 12 个月的研究期间更有可能住院（0.71+/-1.20 与 0.46+/-1.00，p=0.010），但急诊科治疗的利用率（1.74+/-1.23 与 1.88+/-1.63，p=0.560）并无统计学差异。总之，台湾退伍军人疗养院内居民的疼痛患病率为 26.3%；疼痛患者抑郁症状更严重，临床护理复杂性更高，且在 12 个月的随访期间更有可能住院。
