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Multidimensional Frailty and Pain in Community Dwelling Elderly
Tiago Coelho1,2, Constança Paúl2, Robbert J J Gobbens3,4
1Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Allied Health Technologies, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
Pain Medicine (Malden, Mass.)
|March 25, 2015
Summary
Pain significantly predicts frailty in older adults, impacting physical and psychological aspects. Effective pain management may help prevent frailty, dependency, and mortality in the elderly.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Pain Research
- Public Health
Background:
- Frailty is a significant geriatric syndrome associated with adverse health outcomes.
- The relationship between pain and frailty, particularly its predictive role, requires further investigation.
- Understanding predictors of frailty is crucial for developing targeted interventions in older populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predictive relationship between pain and physical, psychological, and social frailty in community-dwelling elderly.
- To determine if pain predicts frailty after accounting for life-course determinants and comorbidity.
- To assess the impact of pain on the different dimensions of frailty.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study design.
- Recruitment of 252 community-dwelling elderly individuals.
- Assessment of frailty using the Tilburg Frailty Indicator and pain using the Pain Impact Questionnaire.
- Application of hierarchical and logistic regression analyses.
Main Results:
- Pain was found to be a significant independent predictor of overall frailty (OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.03–1.10).
- Pain predicted 5.8% of the variance in frailty, 5.9% in physical frailty, and 4.0% in psychological frailty.
- Higher pain impact scores were associated with increased odds of frailty, particularly in women and those aged 80 and over.
Conclusions:
- Pain independently predicts frailty, highlighting the importance of pain management in preventing vulnerability and mortality in older adults.
- Treatment of pain may play a role in the prevention of frailty and its associated negative outcomes.
- Further longitudinal research is recommended to elucidate the causal relationship between pain and frailty.
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