title: Prevalence of different pain categories based on pain spreading on the bodies of older adults in Sweden: a descriptive-level and multilevel association with demographics, comorbidities, medications, and certain lifestyle factors (PainS65+).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is limited knowledge about the prevalence of pain and its relation to comorbidities, medication, and certain lifestyle factors in older adults. To address this limitation, this cross-sectional study examined the spreading of pain on the body in a sample of 6611 subjects ≥65 years old (mean age = 75.0 years; standard deviation [SD] = 7.7) living in southeastern Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sex, age, comorbidities, medication, nicotine, alcohol intake, and physical activity were analyzed in relation to the following pain categories: local pain (LP) (24.1%), regional pain medium (RP-Medium) (20.3%), regional pain heavy (RP-Heavy) (5.2%), and widespread pain (WSP) (1.7%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  RP-Medium, RP-Heavy, and WSP were associated more strongly with women than with men (allp<0.01). RP-Heavy was less likely in the 80-84 and >85 age groups compared to the 65-69 age group (bothp<0.01). Traumatic injuries, rheumatoid arthritis/osteoarthritis, and analgesics were associated with all pain categories (allp<0.001). An association with gastrointestinal disorders was found in LP, RP-Medium, and RP-Heavy (allp<0.01). Depressive disorders were associated with all pain categories, except for LP (allp<0.05). Disorders of the central nervous system were associated with both RP-Heavy and WSP (allp<0.05). Medication for peripheral vascular disorders was associated with RP-Medium (p<0.05), and hypnotics were associated with RP-Heavy (p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More than 50% of older adults suffered from different pain spread categories. Women were more likely to experience greater spreading of pain than men. A noteworthy number of common comorbidities and medications were associated with increased likelihood of pain spread from LP to RP-Medium, RP-Heavy, and WSP. Effective management plans should consider these observed associations to improve functional deficiency and decrease spreading of pain-related disability in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Pain and Rehabilitation Medicine.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dragioti
authors.affiliation: Pain and Rehabilitation Medicine.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Care Analysis, Department of Medical and Health Sciences (IMH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bernfort
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Care Analysis, Department of Medical and Health Sciences (IMH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: L Å
authors.initials: LÅ
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.affiliation: Pain and Rehabilitation Medicine.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gerdle
keywords: aging; chronic pain; comorbidity; medication; older adults; pain spreading