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. 2022 May 19;12(1):8387.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-12331-0.

Prevalence of pain in community-dwelling older adults with hypertension in the United States

Chao-Yi Li #  1 , Wei-Cheng Lin #  1 , Ching-Yen Lu #  1 , Yu Shan Chung  2 , Yu-Chen Cheng  3
Affiliations

Prevalence of pain in community-dwelling older adults with hypertension in the United States

Chao-Yi Li et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Hypertension and pain are both prevalent conditions in the older adult population. We aimed to report the prevalence of pain discomforts and investigated the association between hypertension and pain discomforts among older adults in the United States. Data from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study were analyzed. In-person interviews were conducted in 7601 adults ages ≥ 65 years. Prevalence of bothersome pain, activity-limiting pain, locations of pain and usage of pain medicine were evaluated. Demographics, comorbidities, and other covariates were compared between older adults with hypertension and those without. Multivariate regression was further performed to yield adjusted odd ratios. Among 6825 older adults, 4533 of them had a history of hypertension while 2272 of them had not. Prevalence of bothersome pain (57.12% versus 44.81%, p < 0.001) and activity-limiting pain (56.21% versus 46.12%, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in the hypertension group. After adjusting for all covariates, hypertension demonstrated a significant association with activity-limiting pain (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.52, p = 0.02). In conclusion, pain was more prevalent in older Americans with hypertension. The positive association between hypertension and pain suggested that routine pain assessment and proper treatment would be required to improve the function and quality of life among older adults especially with hypertension.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of bothersome pain and activity-limiting pain among the hypertension and control groups. Bothersome pain and activity-limiting pain were more prevalent in the hypertension group.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of pain in different locations in the hypertension and control groups. Compared with the control group, the hypertension group showed more pain in most anatomical locations, mostly on the back, knee, and shoulder.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Frequency of pain medication use in the hypertension and control groups. The hypertension group had a higher frequency of pain medicine usage than that of the control group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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