• Sirpa A Hartikainen, Pekka T Mäntyselkä, Kirsti A Louhivuori-Laako, and Raimo O Sulkava.
• Division of Geriatrics, Department of Public Health and General Practice, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland. Sirpa.Hartikainen@uku.fi
• Ann Pharmacother. 2005 Jan 1; 39 (1): 11-6.

BackgroundIn elderly persons, pain is a common problem, and analgesic medicines are among the most frequently used drugs.ObjectiveTo describe the use of analgesic medication and its relation to daily pain and morbidity in home-dwelling elderly people aged at least 75 years.MethodsA random sample of 700 subjects aged at least 75 years was drawn from the total population of Kuopio, Finland. A geriatrician and nurse carried out structured clinical examinations and interviews with 601 persons, 523 of whom were living at home.ResultsSeventy percent (n = 364) of the elderly people were taking at least one analgesic, including most of those who suffered from daily interfering pain (85%) and nearly all of those experiencing daily pain at rest (93%). Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; n = 226, 51%) and acetaminophen (n = 118, 23%) were the most commonly used analgesics. The use of opioids became more common with age, accounting for 16% of the drugs in the oldest patients (> or =85 y) and 6% among those aged 75-79 years. Analgesics were mainly taken when needed. Only 13% of NSAID users, 18% of acetaminophen users, and 21% of opioid users took these preparations regularly.ConclusionsAlthough analgesics are commonly used by elderly patients, it appeared that many patients were still experiencing daily interfering pain and pain at rest.

23 keywords...

hide…