Pain at multiple body sites and health-related quality of life in older adults: results from the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project.

Lacey, Rosie J.; Belcher, John; Rathod, Trishna; Wilkie, Ross; Thomas, Elaine; McBeth, John

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Number of pain sites (NPS) is a potentially important marker of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) but remains unexplored in older people. This cross-sectional study investigated whether, in older people including the oldest old, NPS was independently associated with poorer mental and physical HRQoL and if the association was moderated by age. METHODS: A postal questionnaire sent to a population sample of adults aged =50 years in North Staffordshire, UK, included the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS), a blank body pain manikin, socio-demographic, health behaviour and morbidity questions. Participants shaded sites of pain lasting =1 day in the past 4 weeks on the manikin. OA consultation data were obtained for participants consenting to medical records review. RESULTS: A total of 13 986 individuals (adjusted response 70.6%) completed a questionnaire, of which 12 408 provided complete pain data. The median NPS reported was 4 [interquartile range (IQR) 0-8]. General linear models showed that an increasing NPS was significantly associated with poorer MCS (ß = -0.43, 95% CI -0.46, -0.40) and PCS (ß = -0.87, 95% CI -0.90, -0.84). Adjustment for covariates attenuated the associations but they remained significant ( MCS: ß = -0.28, 95% CI -0.31, -0.24; PCS: ß = -0.63, 95% CI -0.66, -0.59). The association between NPS and MCS or PCS was moderated by age, but the strongest associations were not in the oldest old. CONCLUSION: NPS appears to be a potentially modifiable target for improving physical and mental HRQoL in older people. Future analyses should investigate the influence of NPS on HRQoL over time in older people.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 16, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jun 12, 2014
• Publication Date: 2014-11
• Journal: Rheumatology (Oxford)
• Print ISSN: 1462-0324
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 53
• Issue: 11
• Pages: 2071 - 2079
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keu240
• Keywords: aged; cross-sectional survey; health-related quality of life; mental health; multisite pain; pain sites; physical health
• Publisher URL: http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/53/11/2071