ArticleDrugs & aging2021
Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain and Analgesic Treatment Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Changes from 1999 to 2019.
Article in Drugs & aging, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of digital pain management for older adults with musculoskeletal pain: systematic review with meta-analysis.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of a tailored mat-Pilates exercise program for older adults on pain, functioning, and balance in women with chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2023Trial
- Prevalence and associated factors of inappropriate analgesic drug use among community-dwelling older adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Physical function, daily activities, and spinal pain in the elderly: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the biobehavioural pain and movement questionnaire (BioPMovQ) in elderly CMP patients.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
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- Removal of psychopharmaceuticals from WWTP effluent by an algae-mussel trophic cascade: a potential nature-based solution?Environmental science : water research & technology · 2025Article
- Clinical Pharmaceutical Care in Nursing Home Residents as a Cornerstone for Drug-Related Problems Identification.Clinical and translational science · 2025Observational
- Joint Pain and Leisure-Time Physical Activity: Cross-Sectional Findings From the Cardiovascular Health Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Pharmacological Pain Treatment in Older Persons.Drugs & aging · 2024Review
- Pain: its prevalence and correlates among the oldest old.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2024Article
- The challenge of pharmacotherapy for musculoskeletal pain: an overview of unmet needs.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2024Review
- Effects of Exergaming on Musculoskeletal Pain in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JMIR serious games · 2023Article
- Article
- Self-Reported Pain Treatment Practices Among U.S. and Canadian Adults: Findings From a Population Survey.Innovation in aging · 2023Article
- Trends of Antihypertensive, Antidiabetic, and Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Use among the Health Workers Cohort Study, Mexico 2004 to 2018.Advances in pharmacological and pharmaceutical sciences · 2023Article
- Association of Pain Phenotypes with Risk of Falls and Incident Fractures.Biomedicines · 2022Article
- Job-Related Performance and Quality of Life Benefits in First Responders Given Access to H-WaveJournal of personalized medicine · 2022Article
- World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults: a global initiative.Age and ageing · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPain is undertreated in older populations. At the same time, increased use of opioids is of concern in the Western world.
aimsWe sought to analyze temporal trends in musculoskeletal pain and prescribed analgesic treatment among community-dwelling people aged 75-95 years using cross-sectional cohort data spanning 20 years.
methodsThe Helsinki Aging Study recruited random samples of people aged 75, 80, 85, 90, and 95 years in 1999, 2009, and 2019. In total, 5707 community-dwelling persons participated in the study. The participants reported their medical diagnoses, regular prescription medications, and the presence of back pain or joint pain within the last 2 weeks (never, sometimes, or daily). We compared analgesic use among participants reporting and not reporting musculoskeletal pain in 1999, 2009, and 2019.
resultsOf the participants, 57-61% reported intermittent or daily musculoskeletal pain. The percentage receiving a prescribed daily analgesic increased from 9% in 1999 to 16% in 2019. The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) decreased from 1999 to 2019, while the use of paracetamol increased from 2 to 11%. Opioids were taken by 2% in 1999 and 3% in 2019. Of those reporting daily musculoskeletal pain, 20%, 35%, and 32% received regular pain medication in 1999, 2009, and 2019, respectively.
conclusionsPain remains undertreated in the community-dwelling older population, although the use of regular prescribed analgesics increased between 1999 and 2019. The use of NSAIDs has decreased, while the use of paracetamol has increased. Daily opioid use has remained modest.
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