Older people with chronic pain: comparison of pain clinic patients with a community based sample

摘要

Aim: The present study examines variables that distinguish community dwelling older persons with chronic pain from those who attended a pain management centre. Method: Two groups of older people with chronic non-malignant pain were included. The first group comprising 150 patients from a pain management clinic, and the second group comprising 193 older persons with daily chronic pain selected from a random sample of 1000 older people. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictor variables that are associated with those who attended a pain management centre. Results: The variables identified in the logistic regression analysis associated with older persons who attended a multidisciplinary pain management clinic were: having pain caused by a condition other than musculoskeletal conditions (odds ratio = 4.55); a pain history of less than 2 years (odds ratio = 4.78); being depressed (odds ratio = 4.45); and with pain intensity rated as moderate (odds ratio = 9.44), strong (odds ratio = 15.20), or severe (odds ratio = 28.32). About 3% of the sample of community dwelling older persons were estimated to have a similar profile as those who attend a multidisciplinary pain management centre. Conclusion: The findings support the view that older persons who attend a multidisciplinary pain clinic are not representative of older persons with chronic pain in the community. The approach used in the present study provides a rationale for predicting the number of older people who might have similar profile to those who attend a pain management clinic.