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Pain and Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Individuals With Heart Failure Compared With the General Population: The
Erlend Holthe1, Linn Beate Strand2, Håvard Dalen3
1Erlend Holthe, MSc, CCRN, PhD Candidate Department of Public Health and Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Insights
Individuals with heart failure (HF) experience high rates of overall pain and chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP), with greater pain intensity compared to the general population. Healthcare providers should prioritize pain assessment and management for HF patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pain Management
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Pain significantly impacts individuals, particularly those with heart failure (HF).
- Population-based studies on pain in HF patients are limited.
- Understanding pain prevalence and intensity in HF is crucial for effective patient care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence and intensity of overall pain and chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP) in individuals with HF.
- To compare pain levels in HF patients versus the general population.
- To identify differences in CMSP locations between HF patients and controls.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional population study using data from the Trøndelag Health Study (2017-2019).
- Included 56,041 individuals, with 1124 diagnosed with HF by physicians.
- Assessed overall pain using SF-36 and CMSP using the Standardised Nordic Questionnaire.
Main Results:
- HF patients reported high prevalence of overall pain (50.5%) and CMSP (62.1%).
- Pain intensity was significantly higher in HF patients (2.1) than controls (1.8).
- CMSP locations were similar between groups; however, adjusted analyses did not show a clear association between HF and pain.
Conclusions:
- A high prevalence of pain and increased pain intensity were observed in individuals with HF.
- The findings underscore the need for routine pain assessment in HF care.
- Tailored pain management strategies are recommended for individuals with heart failure.
Background:
Pain has detrimental consequences for individuals and is frequently reported in heart failure (HF). However, there is a lack of population studies investigating pain in HF.
Objective:
In this study, our aim was to investigate the prevalence and intensity of pain, including chronic musculoskeletalpain (CMSP), in individuals with HF compared with the general population, and to determine whether patients with HF had different levels of pain than people in the general population.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional population study we used data from the fourth wave of the Trøndelag Health Study in Norway (2017-2019), which included 56,041 individuals, of whom 1124 had HF. The HF diagnosis was ascertained by physicians. Outcomes in this study were overall pain, overall pain intensity, CMSP, and CMSP location. Prevalence of overall pain and overall pain intensity were assessed by an item in the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form health survey (SF-36), while prevalence and location of CMSP were evaluated by one item in the Standardised Nordic Questionnaire. We investigated whether individuals with HF reported more pain than individuals without HF, adjusted for potential confounders. Finally, we compared CMSP location among individuals with or without HF.
Results:
Heart failure was associated with a high prevalence of overall pain (50.5%) and CMSP (62.1%). Pain intensity (range: 0-5) was higher among individuals with HF compared with controls (2.1 vs. 1.8, P ≤ .001). Chronic musculoskeletal pain locations were similar across groups. When adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, body mass index, level of education, living status, and smoking, the association between HF and pain was not evident.
Conclusions:
In this large population study, we found a high prevalence of overall pain and CMSP, and higher pain intensity in individuals with HF. The results suggest that healthcare personnel should incorporate pain assessment and tailored pain therapy during follow-up care of individuals with HF.
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