Pain severity and pharmacologic pain management among community-living older adults: the MOBILIZE Boston study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Concerns about polypharmacy and medication side effects contribute to undertreatment of geriatric pain. This study examines use and effects of pharmacologic treatment for persistent pain in older adults.

Methods

The MOBILIZE Boston Study included 765 adults aged ≥70 years, living in the Boston area, recruited from 2005 to 2008. We studied 599 participants who reported chronic pain at baseline. Pain severity, measured using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) severity subscale, was grouped as very mild (BPI <2), mild (BPI 2-3.99), and moderate to severe (BPI 4-10). Medications taken in the previous 2 weeks were recorded from medication bottles in the home interview.

Results

Half of participants reported using analgesic medications in the previous 2 weeks. Older a

SUBMITTER: Nawai A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5565717 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature