Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2025

A Quantitative Sensory Testing Paradigm to Obtain Measures of Pain Processing in Patients Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery
Published on: January 18, 2018
Pain Lowers Subjective Survival Probabilities Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults
Gillian Fennell1, Margarita Osuna1, Jennifer Ailshire1
1Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Objectives:
Pain is a leading cause of disability and a limiting factor in individuals' assessments of their own subjective health; however, its association with subjective longevity has yet to be explored. Subjective survival probabilities (SSPs), or one's own perceived chances of living to a given age, can influence individuals' behavior as they plan for their futures. This study assesses whether pain correlates to lower SSPs.
Methods:
We use a repeated cross-section of the 2000-2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal and nationally representative survey of Americans aged 51 and older (N = 31,773).
Results:
Fractional logit regressions indicate that, across all age groups, respondents with severe and/or interfering pain reported significantly lower SSPs than those with no pain (Marginal Effect [ME] = -0.03 to -0.06, p < .05). Controlling for all covariates, mild or moderate noninterfering pain was only associated with a significant reduction in SSPs among the youngest group reporting their chances of living to age 75 (ME = -0.02, p < .001). Descriptively and in the model results, respondents with mild or moderate noninterfering pain appeared to more closely resemble pain-free respondents than those with severe or interfering pain.
Discussion:
These findings highlight the importance of pain on SSPs, and contribute to the growing evidence that pain interference is uniquely important in predicting meaningful health outcomes.
More Related Videos
06:04Objective Nociceptive Assessment in Ventilated ICU Patients: A Feasibility Study Using Pupillometry and the Nociceptive Flexion Reflex
Published on: July 4, 2018
09:38Determining Pain Detection and Tolerance Thresholds Using an Integrated, Multi-Modal Pain Task Battery
Published on: April 14, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Analgesia and Pain Management
Nociception
Pain
Blood and Nerve Supply to the Bones
Nutrient Artery
The nutrient artery is the main blood vessel that enters the diaphysis via the nutrient foramen. While most long bones have only one nutrient foramen, large bones, such as the femur, may have two. This...
Cancer Survival Analysis
Assumptions of Survival Analysis