title: [Prevalence and characterization of chronic pain among the elderly living in the community].
abstract: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of chronic pain in elderly municipal employees (n = 451) in Londrina, Paraná State, Brazil, and to characterize the pain in relation to: location, intensity, duration of episode, periodicity, and most frequent time of day. Data were collected using home interviews. Chronic pain was defined as lasting > six months and the elderly were defined as > or = 60 years of age. Overall prevalence of chronic pain was 51.44%, involving mostly the back (21.73%) and lower limbs (21.5%). Back pain was described as daily (31.63%), continuous, or lasting 1-6 hours (19.39%), mild (50%), and without a specific time of day (56.12%). Pain in the lower limbs was described as daily (42.27%), of variable duration (32.99%) or continuous (22.68%), mild (53.61%), and without a specific time of day (48.45%). The study showed a high prevalence of chronic pain in the elderly, with characteristics that can interfere in their quality of life, causing unnecessary suffering.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Brasil. maradellaroza@dilk.com.br
authors.forename: Mara Solange Gomes
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dellaroza
authors.forename: Cibele Andrucioli de Mattos
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pimenta
authors.forename: Tiemi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors