Under-treatment of pain in dementia: assessment is key.

摘要

Recent years have seen increased attention to the problem of pain assessment in older adults, reflected in the 328 references found in a recent comprehensive review of this topic. There are several reasons why this should be so. First, as a symptom of many of the diseases of aging, the prevalence of pain is disproportionately high among older adults. Indeed, 50% to 80% of older adults are affected by pain in some way, including those living in the community and in long-term care (LTC) settings.