Division of Health Care Analysis, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden Departments of Pain and Rehabilitation Centre and Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
Pain. 2015 Mar;156(3):521-527. doi: 10.1097/01.j.pain.0000460336.31600.01.
Chronic pain is associated with large societal costs, but few studies have investigated the total costs of chronic pain with respect to elderly subjects. The elderly usually require informal care, care performed by municipalities, and care for chronic diseases, all factors that can result in extensive financial burdens on elderly patients, their families, and the social services provided by the state. This study aims to quantify the societal cost of chronic pain in people of age 65 years and older and to assess the impact of chronic pain on quality of life. This study collected data from 3 registers concerning health care, drugs, and municipal services and from 2 surveys. A postal questionnaire was used to collect data from a stratified sample of the population 65 years and older in southeastern Sweden. The questionnaire addressed pain intensity and quality of life variables (EQ-5D). A second postal questionnaire was used to collect data from relatives of the elderly patients suffering from chronic pain. A total of 66.5% valid responses of the 10,000 subjects was achieved; 76.9% were categorized as having no or mild chronic pain, 18.9% as having moderate chronic pain, and 4.2% as having severe chronic pain. Consumed resources increased with the severity of chronic pain. Clear differences in EQ-5D were found with respect to the severity of pain. This study found an association between resource use and severity of chronic pain in elderly subjects: the more severe the chronic pain, the more extensive (and expensive) the use of resources.
慢性疼痛会给社会带来巨大的经济负担，但很少有研究调查老年人慢性疼痛的总费用。老年人通常需要非正规护理、市政护理和慢性病护理，所有这些因素都会给老年患者、他们的家庭以及国家提供的社会服务带来沉重的经济负担。本研究旨在量化 65 岁及以上人群慢性疼痛的社会成本，并评估慢性疼痛对生活质量的影响。本研究从涉及医疗保健、药物和市政服务的 3 个登记处以及 2 个调查中收集数据。一份邮寄问卷用于从瑞典东南部年龄在 65 岁及以上的人群中抽取分层样本收集数据。问卷涉及疼痛强度和生活质量变量（EQ-5D）。第二份邮寄问卷用于收集患有慢性疼痛的老年患者亲属的数据。共收到 10000 名被调查者中 66.5%的有效回复；76.9%的人被归类为无或轻度慢性疼痛，18.9%的人被归类为中度慢性疼痛，4.2%的人被归类为重度慢性疼痛。随着慢性疼痛的严重程度，消耗的资源增加。在疼痛严重程度方面，EQ-5D 存在明显差异。本研究发现，资源使用与老年患者慢性疼痛严重程度之间存在关联：慢性疼痛越严重，资源使用就越广泛（且昂贵）。
