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. 2021 Oct;38(10):931-937.
doi: 10.1007/s40266-021-00888-w. Epub 2021 Aug 13.

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain and Analgesic Treatment Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Changes from 1999 to 2019

Tuuli Elina Lehti  1   2   3 , M-O Rinkinen  4 , U Aalto  5   4 , H M Roitto  5   4 , M Knuutila  5   4 , H Öhman  6 , H Kautiainen  4 , H Karppinen  4 , R Tilvis  7 , T Strandberg  7   8 , K H Pitkälä  9   4
Affiliations

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain and Analgesic Treatment Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Changes from 1999 to 2019

Tuuli Elina Lehti et al. Drugs Aging. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Background: Pain is undertreated in older populations. At the same time, increased use of opioids is of concern in the Western world.

Aims: We sought to analyze temporal trends in musculoskeletal pain and prescribed analgesic treatment among community-dwelling people aged 75-95 years using cross-sectional cohort data spanning 20 years.

Methods: The Helsinki Aging Study recruited random samples of people aged 75, 80, 85, 90, and 95 years in 1999, 2009, and 2019. In total, 5707 community-dwelling persons participated in the study. The participants reported their medical diagnoses, regular prescription medications, and the presence of back pain or joint pain within the last 2 weeks (never, sometimes, or daily). We compared analgesic use among participants reporting and not reporting musculoskeletal pain in 1999, 2009, and 2019.

Results: Of the participants, 57-61% reported intermittent or daily musculoskeletal pain. The percentage receiving a prescribed daily analgesic increased from 9% in 1999 to 16% in 2019. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) decreased from 1999 to 2019, while the use of paracetamol increased from 2 to 11%. Opioids were taken by 2% in 1999 and 3% in 2019. Of those reporting daily musculoskeletal pain, 20%, 35%, and 32% received regular pain medication in 1999, 2009, and 2019, respectively.

Conclusions: Pain remains undertreated in the community-dwelling older population, although the use of regular prescribed analgesics increased between 1999 and 2019. The use of NSAIDs has decreased, while the use of paracetamol has increased. Daily opioid use has remained modest.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr Strandberg reports educational cooperation with Servier, Orion, and Novartis, and is a member of the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) special interest group on cardiovascular medicine in older people and diabetes in older people. Dr Pitkälä, Dr Öhman, Dr Karppinen, Dr Tilvis, Lehti, Knuutila, Rinkinen, Dr Roitto, Dr Aalto, and Kautiainen declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Adjusted prevalence of the regular use of prescribed analgesics among participants reporting musculoskeletal pain (in black) and among participants not reporting musculoskeletal pain (in white) in 1999, 2009, and 2019. Percentages were adjusted for age, sex, and Charlson comorbidity index with 95% confidence intervals (p < 0.001 for cohort, p < 0.001 for pain group, p = 0.25 for interaction). n = 2473, n = 1583, and n = 1651 in 1999, 2009, and 2019, respectively
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Adjusted prevalence of the regular use of prescribed analgesics among participants reporting intermittent (in grey) or daily musculoskeletal pain (in black) in 1999, 2009, and 2019. Percentages were adjusted for age, sex, and Charlson comorbidity index with 95% confidence intervals (p < 0.001 for cohort, p < 0.001 for pain group, p = 0.89 for interaction). n = 2473, n = 1583, and n = 1651 in 1999, 2009, and 2019, respectively
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