title: Three subgroups of pain profiles identified in 227 women with arthritis: a latent class analysis.
abstract: The objectives were to identify subgroups of women with arthritis based upon the multi-dimensional nature of their pain experience and to compare health and socio-demographic variables between subgroups. A latent class analysis of 227 women with self-reported arthritis was used to identify clusters of women based upon the sensory, affective, and cognitive dimensions of the pain experience. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between cluster membership and health and sociodemographic characteristics. A three-class cluster model was most parsimonious. 39.5 % of women had a unidimensional pain profile; 38.6 % of women had moderate multidimensional pain profile that included additional pain symptomatology such as sensory qualities and pain catastrophizing; and 21.9 % of women had severe multidimensional pain profile that included prominent pain symptomatology such as sensory and affective qualities of pain, pain catastrophizing, and neuropathic pain. Women with severe multidimensional pain profile have a 30.5 % higher risk of poorer quality of life and a 7.3 % higher risk of suffering depression, and women with moderate multidimensional pain profile have a 6.4 % higher risk of poorer quality of life when compared to women with unidimensional pain. This study identified three distinct subgroups of pain profiles in older women with arthritis. Women had very different experiences of pain, and cluster membership impacted significantly on health-related quality of life. These preliminary findings provide a stronger understanding of profiles of pain and may contribute to the development of tailored treatment options in arthritis.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Gender Health and Ageing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia. chirokatie@live.com.au.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2763-771X
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: de Luca
authors.affiliation: School of Human Health and Social Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia.
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parkinson
authors.affiliation: George Institute for Global Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.|Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Aron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Downie
authors.affiliation: Concord Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Blyth
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Gender Health and Ageing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Byles
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001168:Arthritis / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D063189:Symptom Assessment
keywords: Epidemiology; Latent class analysis; Osteoarthritis; Pain; Rheumatoid arthritis