• Niina M Karttunen, Juha H O Turunen, Riitta S Ahonen, and Sirpa A Hartikainen.
• *Kuopio Research Centre of Geriatric Care †Clinical Pharmacology and Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Unit, School of Pharmacy §Social Pharmacy Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio ‡Farenta Oy, Vantaa, Finland.
• Clin J Pain. 2015 Jan 1; 31 (1): 79-85.

ObjectiveTo determine the persistence of chronic pain among community-dwelling older persons and to identify factors related to persistent chronic pain.MethodsIn this prospective longitudinal study, a random sample of Finnish community-dwelling people aged 76 years and older (n=256) were interviewed annually by a trained nurse at 3 time points. Data on prevalence, duration, location, and intensity of musculoskeletal pain, analgesic use, demographics, and health characteristics were collected during the interviews.ResultsChronic pain was reported by 48.9% of the participants at baseline, with 74.4% of them experiencing persistent chronic pain, that is, they reported chronic pain at all 3 study points. Persistent chronic pain was associated with poor self-rated health (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.26, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.03-4.98), mobility difficulties (AOR=2.80, 95% CI, 1.22-6.43), and arthrosis or rheumatoid arthritis (AOR=3.07, 95% CI, 1.47-6.42) when compared with persons without chronic pain. However, only 15% of the persons with persistent chronic pain were using analgesics on a regular basis, and one out of every 5 was not taking any analgesics.ConclusionsChronic musculoskeletal pain is a highly persistent condition among community-dwelling older persons and it is related to poor health and mobility difficulties. In addition, the use of daily analgesic is low despite the continuous nature of chronic pain.

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