Glucose regulation and pain in older people—The Helsinki Birth Cohort Study

Max J Åström,Mikaela B Von Bonsdorff,Maija Haanpää,Minna K Salonen,Hannu Kautiainen,Johan G Eriksson

doi:10.1016/j.pcd.2021.02.001

Abstract

AimsTo assess if individuals with diabetes or prediabetes report more pain or have increased use of pain medication compared to normoglycaemic individuals. MethodsUsing cross-sectional data, we studied 928 men and 1075 women from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study in 2001–2004 at a mean age of 61.5 years. Glucose regulation was assessed with a 2-h 75 g oral glucose tolerance test, and applying World Health Organization criteria, participants were defined as having normoglycaemia, prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance), newly diagnosed diabetes or previously diagnosed diabetes. Self-reported pain intensity and interference during the previous 4 weeks was estimated using the RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0. Information on use of pain medication during the past 12 months was obtained from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. ResultsThere was no difference in pain intensity or interference between glucose regulation groups for neither men nor women after adjusting for covariates (age, body mass index, education years, Beck Depression Inventory and physical activity). In addition, use of pain medication was similar between glucose regulation groups. ConclusionsAlthough pain is a common symptom in the general population, impairments in glucose regulation alone does not seem to increase pain among older individuals.

Highlights

In the general population, pain is a common problem and an important reason for seeking medical attention [1]
NG = normoglycaemia; New DM = diabetes diagnosed at oral glucose tolerance test; Known DM = diabetes diagnosed before oral glucose tolerance test; BMI = body mass index; LTPA = leisure-time physical activity; VAS = visual analog scale; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory
We found no increase in pain intensity or interference among people with prediabetes or diabetes compared to people with normoglycaemia

Summary

Introduction

Pain is a common problem and an important reason for seeking medical attention [1]. In Finland, chronic pain affects approximately 19–35% of the population [2,5] and pain is the primary symptom in nearly one third of the visits to health care centres [6]. Chronic pain has been shown to interfere with activities of daily living and is associated with poor self-rated health, as well as multimorbidity and premature mortality [7,8,9]. The economic consequences of pain are substantial, both due to direct health care costs as well as indirect costs such as loss of work days and productivity [7,10]. As the prevalence of chronic pain has been shown to increase with older age, preventing and managing pain is important in order to decrease the risk of disability and loss of independence [3,11]

Methods

Results

Conclusion