Clinical features of Parkinson's disease combined with pain in the elderly

Abstract

Objective To analyze the clinical features of Parkinson's disease (PD) combined with chronic pain in the elderly. Methods A total of 366 idiopathic PD patients experiencing pain were enrolled and divided into two groups: the elderly group (n=289) and the young group (n=77). Rating scales including Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) Scale, Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) were evaluated. Results Compared with the young group, the elderly group had evidently higher scores of UPDRSⅡ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ, H-Y Scale, VAS as well as five sub-items of BPI including daily living, working, sleeping, walking ability and social communication 〔(13.7±5.3) vs. (12.3±6.3), (27.3±12.9)vs.(23.3±9.6), (2.3±2.2)vs.(1.7±1.3), (2.4±1.0)vs.(2.1±0.9), (63.3±25.6)vs.(56.6±25.0), (5.3±2.7)vs.(4.6±2.7), (5.9±3.2)vs.(5.1±2.8), (6.3±2.5)vs.(5.6±2.6), (4.7±3.1)vs.(3.8±2.0), (3.2±2.1)vs.(2.6±2.5), t=1.976, 2.539, 2.287, 2.381, 2.050, 2.021, 1.997, 2.165, 2.420, 2.134, respectively, all P 0.05). Compared with the young group, patients in the elderly group had a higher ratio of two or more pain types associated with PD〔41.2% (119/299)vs.23.4% (18/77), χ2=8.190, P<0.05〕, but a lower ratio of pain-related treatment 〔29.76% (86/299)vs.51.95% (40/77), χ2=13.260, P<0.05〕. Conclusions Pain in elderly PD patients is more severe , shows more diverse types, and significantly affects the quality of life. Enhanced intervention is needed. Key words: Pakinson disease; Pain