Institute of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kopernika 25 Street, 31-501 Krakow, Poland.
Department of Geriatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 3;20(3):2748. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032748.
Chronic pain in older people is a global health problem not only in terms of a negative subjective feeling, but also as a social and economic factor. Deterioration of functional capacity is one of the main symptoms of chronic pain; therefore, it should be assessed as a basic parameter in the life of older people. The aim of the study was to analyze the factors which have an impact on the functional capacity of older people with chronic pain.
The study was conducted among 181 people over 65 suffering from chronic pain lasting more than 6 months. The study used a questionnaire that included questions about demographic and social characteristics and the following scales: Abbreviated Mental Score (AMTS), Personal Activities of Daily Living (PADL) by Katz, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) by Lawton, Geriatric Pain Measure-24 (GPM-24).
In the study group, a positive correlation was found between: coexisting diseases and withdrawal due to pain, pain intensity, pain resulting from walking or from the effort from other activities, and in terms of the total GPM-24 score. A positive correlation was also found between the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and withdrawal due to pain, pain intensity, pain resulting from walking or from the effort from other activities, and in terms of the total GPM-24 score. A significantly negative correlation was found between: AMTS, ADL, IADL performance and: withdrawal due to pain, pain intensity, pain resulting from walking or from the effort from other activities, and in terms of total GPM-24 score.
Chronic pain is more common in people with disabilities in basic and complex activities of daily living, with limited efficiency in cognitive functions and an increased sense of depression. The standard in everyday practice and clinical trials should be taking a history of chronic pain in every older person, monitoring the pain's intensity and accompanying characteristics by using a multidimensional scale for assessing pain in older people.
老年人慢性疼痛不仅是一种消极的主观感受，也是一个社会和经济问题，是一个全球性的健康问题。功能能力的下降是慢性疼痛的主要症状之一；因此，它应该作为老年人生活的基本参数进行评估。本研究的目的是分析影响患有慢性疼痛的老年人功能能力的因素。
该研究在 181 名 65 岁以上患有慢性疼痛超过 6 个月的人群中进行。研究使用了一份问卷，其中包括人口统计学和社会特征以及以下量表的问题：简短精神状态量表（AMTS）、Katz 的日常生活活动（PADL）、Lawton 的日常生活活动工具（IADL）、老年疼痛量表-24（GPM-24）。
在研究组中，发现并存疾病与疼痛导致的退出、疼痛强度、行走或其他活动引起的疼痛之间存在正相关，以及在总 GPM-24 评分方面存在正相关。还发现老年抑郁量表（GDS）与疼痛导致的退出、疼痛强度、行走或其他活动引起的疼痛之间存在正相关，以及在总 GPM-24 评分方面存在正相关。发现 AMTS、ADL、IADL 表现与疼痛导致的退出、疼痛强度、行走或其他活动引起的疼痛之间存在显著负相关，以及在总 GPM-24 评分方面存在负相关。
患有残疾的老年人在基本和复杂的日常生活活动中慢性疼痛更为常见，认知功能效率有限，抑郁感增加。在日常实践和临床试验的标准中，应该对每个老年人进行慢性疼痛的病史记录，通过使用多维量表评估老年人的疼痛强度和伴随特征来监测疼痛的强度和伴随特征。
