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
. 2023 Aug 28;78(9):1545-1554.
doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbad085.

Examining the Association of Pain and Pain Frequency With Self-Reported Difficulty in Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Findings From the Longitudinal Aging Study in India

Thalil Muhammad  1 , Muhammed Rashid  2   3 , Preeti Pushpalata Zanwar  4   5
Affiliations

Examining the Association of Pain and Pain Frequency With Self-Reported Difficulty in Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Findings From the Longitudinal Aging Study in India

Thalil Muhammad et al. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. .

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the prevalence and associations of self-reported difficulty in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) with pain among community-dwelling older adults in India. We also explored the interaction effects of age and sex in these associations.

Methods: We used the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave 1 data (2017-2018). Our unweighted sample included 31,464 older adults aged 60 years and above. Outcome measures were having difficulty in at least 1 ADL/IADL. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses to examine the association of pain with functional difficulties controlling for selected variables.

Results: A total of 23.8% of older adults reported ADL and 48.4% reported IADL difficulty. Among older adults who reported pain, 33.1% reported difficulty in ADL and 57.1% reported difficulty in IADL. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for ADL was 1.83 (confidence interval [CI]: 1.70-1.96) and for IADL was 1.43 (CI: 1.35-1.51) when respondents reported pain compared with those without pain. Older adults who reported frequent pain had 2.28 and 1.67 times higher odds of ADL (aOR: 2.28; CI: 2.07-2.50) and IADL difficulty (aOR: 1.67; CI: 1.53-1.82) compared with those with no pain. Additionally, age and sex of the respondents significantly moderated the associations of pain and difficulty in ADL and IADL.

Discussion: Given the higher prevalence and likelihood of functional difficulties among older Indian adults who experienced frequent pain, interventions to mitigate pain in this vulnerable population are needed to ensure active and healthy aging.

Keywords: ADL/IADL functional difficulty; India; LASI; Older adults; Pain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportion of older adults reporting pain and pain frequency.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Prevalence estimates (%) of difficulty in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) by pain and pain frequency among older adults.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Coefficient plot of interaction among sex, age, and pain on difficulty in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) among older adults. Model 1 and Model 2 are adjusted for all the covariates in Table 1. aOR = adjusted odds ratio.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdi, S., Spann, A., Borilovic, J., de Witte, L., & Hawley, M. (2019). Understanding the care and support needs of older people: A scoping review and categorisation using the WHO international classification of functioning, disability and health framework (ICF). BMC Geriatrics, 19(1), 195. doi: 10.1186/s12877-019-1189-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adlakha, D., Krishna, M., Woolrych, R., & Ellis, G. (2020). Neighbourhood supports for active ageing in urban India. Psychology and Developing Societies, 32(2), 254–277. doi: 10.1177/0971333620937497 - DOI
    1. Ajayi, S. A., Adebusoye, L. A., Ogunbode, A. M., Akinyemi, J. O., & Adebayo, A. M. (2015). Profile and correlates of functional status in elderly patients presenting at a primary care clinic in Nigeria. African Journal of Primary Health & Family Medicine, 7(1). doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v7i1.810 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Akhtar, S. N., Saikia, N., & Muhammad, T. (2023). Self-rated health among older adults in India: Gender specific findings from National Sample Survey. PLoS One, 18(4), e0284321. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284321 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andrews, J. S., Cenzer, I. S., Yelin, E., & Covinsky, K. E. (2013). Pain as a risk factor for disability or death. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 61(4), 583–589. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12172 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types