Taurino Guedes D1, Campos Cavalcanti Maciel Á2, da Silva Pereira D2, Villar Tavares D2, Vidal de Negreiros Nóbrega P2
1Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Faculty of Health Sciences of Trairí, Santa Cruz, Brazil, 2Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Physical Therapy Department, Natal, Brazil
Background: Pain has significant functional, cognitive, emotional and social consequences in individual's life. The resulting incapacity of pain is multi-determined, and it is still a challenge to determine which the mechanisms are involved in such a repercussion in older adults' life. Maintenance of functional capacity is an important factor for life independence and quality of living, particularly when one takes into account those who live in long term care centers (ILPI).
Purpose: To evaluate the relation between the kind of pain and the physical performance of older adults living in ILPI.
Methods: A transversal study has been made with 113 older adults living in ILPI in Paraiba, Brazil. Among the instruments, we used the Geriatric Pain Measure (GPM) for pain evaluation and the Short Physical Performance Balance (SPPB) for evaluation of physical performance. The t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests were used in the bivariate analysis. Finally, multivariate analysis was assessed by multiple linear regression analysis with a confidence interval (CI) of 95% and a p 0.05.
Results: The sample features the feminine sex predominance (65.4%), single (43.2%), and low educational level (59.2%). The age average was 78.8 (±7.62) years and 3.80 (±3.49) years living in the care centre. Pain was referred to by 57.5% of older adults. 48.0% admitted having chronic pain and 13.4% acute pain. In the set Pain Geriatric Measure (GPM) evaluation, the average score was 29.44 (±28.62). The pain intensity in most of the older adults in pain, in general, and chronic pain was moderated (60.6% and 69.5% respectively) and among the older adults in acute pain it was lightweight (52.9%). Physical performance was significantly shorter in people over 80 and the women; since the older adult who had a positive self-perception of health achieved better results at this phase of evaluation. As we correlated the results from Pain Geriatric Measure with the functional evaluation we found that only the balance score did not correlate to the pain evaluation by GPM (r=-0.110; p=0.22). Multivariate analysis showed that pain affects negatively the performance results in gait speed tests (ß=-0.23; p=0.03) and lifting a chair (ß=3.7; p=0.04) and at the SPPB total score (ß=-1.9; p=0.01), not relating significantly to the balance performance (ß=-0.23; p=0.53). Chronic pain did not appear as a limiting factor on the performance in this analysis.
Conclusion(s): Acute pain had an impact in an independent way on the functional performance in older adults, mostly at dynamic activities (gait, sitting and standing).
Implications: The present study demonstrated the importance of pain in the appearance of deficits in the functional performance of this population. It is expected that this work will aid future researches to determine which pain management strategies can prevent or control disability among the long-term care facilities.
Keywords: Pain, Aging, Mobility
Funding acknowledgements: None
Purpose: To evaluate the relation between the kind of pain and the physical performance of older adults living in ILPI.
Methods: A transversal study has been made with 113 older adults living in ILPI in Paraiba, Brazil. Among the instruments, we used the Geriatric Pain Measure (GPM) for pain evaluation and the Short Physical Performance Balance (SPPB) for evaluation of physical performance. The t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests were used in the bivariate analysis. Finally, multivariate analysis was assessed by multiple linear regression analysis with a confidence interval (CI) of 95% and a p 0.05.
Results: The sample features the feminine sex predominance (65.4%), single (43.2%), and low educational level (59.2%). The age average was 78.8 (±7.62) years and 3.80 (±3.49) years living in the care centre. Pain was referred to by 57.5% of older adults. 48.0% admitted having chronic pain and 13.4% acute pain. In the set Pain Geriatric Measure (GPM) evaluation, the average score was 29.44 (±28.62). The pain intensity in most of the older adults in pain, in general, and chronic pain was moderated (60.6% and 69.5% respectively) and among the older adults in acute pain it was lightweight (52.9%). Physical performance was significantly shorter in people over 80 and the women; since the older adult who had a positive self-perception of health achieved better results at this phase of evaluation. As we correlated the results from Pain Geriatric Measure with the functional evaluation we found that only the balance score did not correlate to the pain evaluation by GPM (r=-0.110; p=0.22). Multivariate analysis showed that pain affects negatively the performance results in gait speed tests (ß=-0.23; p=0.03) and lifting a chair (ß=3.7; p=0.04) and at the SPPB total score (ß=-1.9; p=0.01), not relating significantly to the balance performance (ß=-0.23; p=0.53). Chronic pain did not appear as a limiting factor on the performance in this analysis.
Conclusion(s): Acute pain had an impact in an independent way on the functional performance in older adults, mostly at dynamic activities (gait, sitting and standing).
Implications: The present study demonstrated the importance of pain in the appearance of deficits in the functional performance of this population. It is expected that this work will aid future researches to determine which pain management strategies can prevent or control disability among the long-term care facilities.
Keywords: Pain, Aging, Mobility
Funding acknowledgements: None
Topic: Older people; Pain & pain management
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte
Ethics committee: Research Ethics Committee
Ethics number: 834782
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
