Poor Sleep Predicts Musculoskeletal Pain in Older Adults

Poor Sleep Predicts Musculoskeletal Pain in Older Adults

New-onset widespread pain (WP) is common in older adults and is predicted by a number of factors, including baseline pain status, anxiety, and physical health–related quality of life. Nonrestorative sleep is the strongest predictor, however, for WP in this patient population, according to a new study.

John McBeth, PhD, reader in epidemiology, the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre of Keele University in Staffordshire, United Kingdom, and colleagues published the results of their population-based cohort study online February 13 in Arthritis and Rheumatology. The study was designed to identify the factors associated with the development of new-onset WP.

The cohort consisted of 4326 unselected older people (≥50 years of age) who lived in a community setting. In the 3-year follow-up, 800 (18.5%) reported new WP. Sociodemographic, psychological, and clinical factors were all reasonable predictors of new-onset WP.

Increasing age was associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting new-onset WP. “The frequency of those with musculoskeletal pain increases with age, but appears to stabilize or slightly decrease in those aged 70,” explained author Ross Wilkie, PhD, from Keele University, to Medscape Medical News.

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