Sex-specific trajectories and variability of pain burden in relation to cognitive decline and depressive symptoms in older adults: a prospective cohort study from health and retirement study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chronic pain is highly prevalent in middle-aged and older adults and is frequently accompanied by depressive symptoms and cognitive decline. Its long-term impact on cognitive and psychological trajectories remains incompletely understood, and sex-specific associations are underexplored.

Methods

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we constructed pain-score trajectories and assessed their variability among 20,146 participants, and evaluated their association with study outcomes in 6,960 participants. Longitudinal pain trajectories were identified using cubic polynomial latent class mixed models, while within-person variability in pain was quantified using Variability Independent of the Mean (VIM). Depressive symptoms was assessed via the 8-item Center f

SUBMITTER: He TY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12837035 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature