High prevalence of falls, fear of falling, and impaired balance in older adults with pain in the United States: findings from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of clinically relevant falls-related outcomes according to pain status in older adults in the United States.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study, a sample of Medicare enrollees aged 65 and older (response rate 71.0%).

SETTING

In-person assessments were conducted in the home or residential care facility of the sampled study participant.

PARTICIPANTS

Individuals aged 65 and older (n = 7,601, representing 35.3 million Medicare beneficiaries).

MEASUREMENTS

Participants were asked whether they had been "bothered by pain" and the location of pain, as well as questions about balance and coordination, fear of falling, and falls.

RESULTS

Fifty-three percent of the participants reported bothersome pain. The prevalence of recurrent falls in the past year (≥ 2 falls) was 19.5% in participants with pain and 7.4% in those without (age- and sex-adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) = 2.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.28-3.05). The prevalence of fear of falling that limits activity was 18.0% in those with pain and 4.4% in those without (adjusted PR = 3.98, 95% CI = 3.24-4.87). Prevalence of balance and falls outcomes increased with number of pain sites. For example, prevalence of problems with balance and coordination that limited activity was 6.6% in participants with no pain, 11.6% in those with one site of pain, 17.7% in those with two sites, 25.0% in those with three sites, and 41.4% in those with four or more sites (P < .001 for trend). Associations were robust to adjustment for several potential confounders, including cognitive and physical performance.

CONCLUSION

Falls-related outcomes were substantially more common in older adults with pain than in those without. Accordingly, pain management strategies should be developed and evaluated for falls prevention.