Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 13;76(9):e179-e186.
doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaa249.

Chronic Pain and Risk of Injurious Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Yurun Cai  1   2 , Suzanne G Leveille  2   3   4 , Ling Shi  2 , Ping Chen  5 , Tongjian You  6
Affiliations

Chronic Pain and Risk of Injurious Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Yurun Cai et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. .

Abstract

Background: Fall injuries are a leading cause of death in older adults. The potential impact of chronic pain characteristics on risk for injurious falls is not well understood. This prospective cohort study examined the relationship between chronic pain and risk for injurious falls in older adults.

Method: The MOBILIZE Boston Study enrolled 765 community-dwelling adults aged 70 years and older living in and around Boston, Massachusetts. Chronic pain characteristics, including pain severity, pain interference, and pain distribution, were measured at baseline using the Brief Pain Inventory subscales and a joint pain questionnaire. Occurrence of falls and fall-related injuries were recorded using monthly fall calendar postcards and fall follow-up interviews during the 4-year follow-up period.

Results: Negative binomial regression models showed that pain interference and pain distribution, but not pain severity, independently predicted injurious falls adjusting for potential confounders. Participants in the highest third of pain interference scores had a 61% greater risk of injurious falls compared to those reporting little or no pain interference. Compared to no pain, multisite pain was associated with a 57% greater risk of injurious falls. Stratified by gender, the association was only significant in women. In the short term, moderate-to-severe pain in a given month was associated with increased risk of injurious falls in the subsequent month.

Conclusions: Global pain measures are associated with increased risk of injurious falls in older adults. Pain assessment should be incorporated into fall risk assessments. Interventions are needed to prevent fall injuries among elders with chronic pain.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Falls; Mobility; Pain; Risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Cho KH, Bok SK, Kim YJ, Hwang SL. Effect of lower limb strength on falls and balance of the elderly. Ann Rehabil Med. 2012;36(3):386–393. doi:10.5535/arm.2012.36.3.386 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rubenstein LZ. Falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention. Age Ageing. 2006;35(Suppl. 2):37–41. doi:10.1093/ageing/afl084 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tinetti ME, Kumar C. The patient who falls: “It’s always a trade-off”. J Am Med Assoc. 2010;303(3):258–266. doi:10.1001/jama.2009.2024 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Woolcott JC, Richardson KJ, Wiens MO, et al. . Meta-analysis of the impact of 9 medication classes on falls in elderly persons. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(21):1952–1960. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2009.357 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kvelde T, McVeigh C, Toson B, et al. . Depressive symptomatology as a risk factor for falls in older people: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013;61(5):694–706. doi:10.1111/jgs.12209 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types