Department of General Practice, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Eur J Pain. 2014 Feb;18(2):279-87. doi: 10.1002/j.1532-2149.2013.00363.x. Epub 2013 Jul 19.
Although back pain is common among older people, limited information is available about the characteristics of these patients in primary care. Earlier research suggests that the severity of back symptoms increases with older age.
Patients aged >55 years visiting a general practitioner with a new episode of back pain were included in the BACE study. Information on patients' characteristics, characteristics of the complaint and physical examination were derived from the baseline measurement. Cross-sectional differences between patients aged >55-74 and ≥75 years were analysed using an unpaired t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test or a chi-square test.
A total of 675 back pain patients were included in the BACE study, with a median age of 65 (interquartile range 60-71) years. Patients aged >55-74 years had a mean disability score (measured with the Roland Disability Questionnaire) of 9.4 [standard deviation (SD) 5.8] compared with 12.1 (SD 5.5) in patients aged ≥75 years (p ≤ 0.01). The older group reported more additional musculoskeletal disorders and more often had low bone quality (based on ultrasound measurement of the heel) than patients aged >55-74 years. Average back pain severity over the previous week showed no difference (p = 0.11) between the age groups, but severity of back pain at the moment of filling in the questionnaire was higher (p = 0.03) in the older age group.
In this study, older back pain patients reported more disabilities and co-morbidity. However, the clinical relevance of these differences for the course of the back pain episode in older patients remains a subject for further research.
尽管背痛在老年人中很常见，但关于初级保健中老年患者特征的信息有限。早期研究表明，背部症状的严重程度随年龄增长而增加。
本研究纳入了在全科医生处就诊、新发背痛且年龄＞55 岁的患者。患者特征、症状特征和体格检查信息均来自基线测量。使用独立样本 t 检验、Mann-Whitney U 检验或卡方检验分析年龄＞55-74 岁和≥75 岁患者之间的横断面差异。
共有 675 例背痛患者纳入 BACE 研究，中位年龄为 65（四分位距 60-71）岁。年龄＞55-74 岁的患者残疾评分（用 Roland 残疾问卷测量）均值为 9.4（标准差 5.8），而≥75 岁的患者为 12.1（标准差 5.5）（p≤0.01）。年龄较大的患者报告有更多的其他肌肉骨骼疾病，且更常存在低骨质量（基于足跟超声测量）。两组患者过去一周的平均背痛严重程度无差异（p=0.11），但填写问卷时的背痛严重程度在年龄较大的患者中更高（p=0.03）。
在这项研究中，老年背痛患者报告了更多的残疾和合并症。然而，这些差异对老年患者背痛发作过程的临床相关性仍有待进一步研究。
