Background & Aims
Lower extremity musculoskeletal pain is common in older adults and often contributes to low physical activity in this population. However, some older adults with pain are physically active, and thus seemingly ‘resilient’ to the detrimental impact of pain on physical activity. Engaging in regular physical activity contributes to healthy aging, thus promoting activity in the presence of pain is critical. Despite the apparent benefit of physical activity in the presence of pain, little is known about the epidemiology of this apparent pain resiliency and its predictors.
Methods
This study describes the prevalence and health characteristics of pain resiliency, defined as physical activity engagement concurrent with lower extremity joint pain. Data are from two community-based cohorts of adults aged 64 and older from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), and the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study (Health ABC). Pain was measured by self-report in the past year. In CHS, a composite leisure time physical activity (kcal/week) was computed. In Health ABC, participants self-reported time per week spent walking. Resiliency was defined as people who reported pain and were also physically active, either in the top quintile or by meeting national physical activity guidelines. In addition to demographics and pain characteristics, we compared medical diagnoses, falls in prior years, mood, sleep, psychosocial factors, and physical and cognitive functioning between resilient and non-resilient older adults.
Results
Both cohorts had slightly more female than male participants (CHS(n=2,703): 56% female, Health ABC(n=3,075): 52% female), the majority was White (CHS: 84%, Health ABC: 58%), and about one third reported lower extremity pain (CHS: 34%, Health ABC: 29%). In both cohorts, compared to those without pain, those with pain reported more depressive symptoms, worse sleep, and lower grip strength. In CHS, among those with lower extremity pain, 19% (n=175) were pain resilient, representing 6% of the entire sample. In the Health ABC, 24% (n=210) had pain resiliency, corresponding to 7% of the entire cohort. Pain characteristics were largely comparable between the resilient and non-resilient groups, with similar prevalence of multi-site pain, arthritis diagnoses, and pain location. In both cohorts, the pain resilient group was generally more likely White, male, with more education, faster gait speed, faster processing speed, and a lower prevalence of diabetes, compared to the non-resilient.
Conclusions
Two population-based cohorts with different recruitment strategies, age ranges, study years, racial composition, and pain and physical activity assessment exhibited similar prevalence of lower extremity musculoskeletal pain (~32%) and resiliency (~20%). Although pain characteristics do not appear to explain resiliency, indicators of better physical and cognitive function may play a role.
References
N/A
Presenting Author
Kailyn Witonsky
Poster Authors
Topics
- Pain in Special Populations: Elderly