Chronic pain in older adults and direct and indirect associations with sociodemographic and health-related characteristics: a path analysis

Abstract Objective Identify the prevalence of chronic pain in individuals older than 70 years of age and identify relations between chronic pain and both sociodemographic and health-related characteristics to determine the role of chronic pain as a mediator between these variables in relation to self-rated health. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 419 individuals aged 72 years and older, between the years of 2016 and 2017. The participants were from the follow-up of the FIBRA Study, which included non-institutionalized older adults living in urban areas of the cities of Campinas and Ermelino Matarazzo in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The mediating variable was chronic pain, which was assessed by the self-report of the presence of pain in the previous six months. The independent variables were sociodemographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, multimorbidity, depressive symptoms, insomnia and self-rated health. Direct and indirect relations were tested using path analysis. Results A total of 57.0% of the sample reported chronic pain. The female gender, a high body mass index (BMI), multimorbidity, insomnia, and depressive symptoms were directly associated with chronic pain. Chronic pain figured as a mediator variable in the associations between self-rated health and gender, BMI, multimorbidity, and symptoms of insomnia. Conclusion Data demonstrate a complex network of interactions between chronic pain and both sociodemographic and health-related characteristics. Such knowledge can benefit the management and care of the older adults affected with chronic pain.