RT Journal Article
T1 Chronic musculoskeletal pain in European older adults: Crossnational and gender differences
A1 Cimas, M.
A1 Ayala García, Alba
A1 Sanz, B
A1 Agulló Tomás, María Silveria
A1 Escobar, A.
A1 Forjaz, M.J.
A2 Wiley, 
AB Background: In an ageing Europe, chronic pain is a major publichealth problem, but robust epidemiological data are scarce. This studyaimed to analyse the prevalence of and factors associated with chronicmusculoskeletal pain by gender in older adults of 14 Europeancountries.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed from wave 5 of theSurvey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The studyincluded people ≥50 years residing in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic,Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, theNetherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Chronic painwas defined as being bothered by joint and/or back pain for theprevious 6 months. Multivariable Poisson regression models with robustvariance were performed to analyse prevalence ratio by covariates,stratified by sex.Results: A total of 61,157 participants were included. Overallprevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain was 35.7% (28.8–31.7),ranging from 18.6% (17.1–20.1) for Switzerland to 45.6% (43.3–47.8)for France. Prevalence was higher in women than in men: 41.3% (40.2–42.4) versus 29.1% (28.0–30.3). Chronic musculoskeletal pain waslower in men aged >75 years (PR = 0.82; 0.72–0.92) than the younger(50–59) group. Separated/divorced status presented opposite effectsamong men (PR = 0.85; 0.76–0.96) and women (PR = 1.12; 1.03–1.21)compared with married, and unemployment was a significant factor inmen (PR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.02–1.43) compared with employed.Conclusions: Musculoskeletal pain in older European adults is veryfrequent, especially in women, with large differences depending on thecountry of residence. Health policy makers should prioritize strategiesaimed at improving the prevention and management of chronicmusculoskeletal pain in Europe.Significance: This study provides epidemiological data of chronicmusculoskeletal pain in older adults. Reported differences contribute tohighlight the relevance of considering a gender perspective in chronicmusculoskeletal pain research. Cross-national comparison also offers amap of differences that improves the knowledge of this chroniccondition in Europe.
SN 1090-3801
YR 2018
FD 2018-02
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10016/30653
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10016/30653
LA eng
NO This work was partially supported by (1) ENCAGE-CM (ref: S2015/HUM-3367), funded by the I+D Activity Program of Madrid Community research groups on social sciencesand humanities and co-funded by the European Social Fund; (2) ENVACES (MINECO/FEDER/UE, ref. CSO2015-64115-R), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industryand Competitiveness. This work also arises from the Joint Action on Chronic Diseases and Promoting Healthy Ageing across the Life Cycle (JA-CHRODIS), which has received funding from the European Union, in the framework of the Health Programme (2008-2013).
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RD 17 jul. 2024