Cited by 63Telomeres, Telomerase, and SenescenceOsteoarthritis Treatment and MechanismsMusculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation

Accelerated aging in adults with knee osteoarthritis pain: consideration for frequency, intensity, time, and total pain sites

Open access
Sibille, Kimberly T., Chen, Huaihou, Bartley, Emily J., Riley, Joseph, Glover, Toni L., King, Christopher D., Zhang, Hang, Cruz-Almeida, Yenisel +10 more·2017·PAIN Reports

Abstract

Introduction: Individuals with osteoarthritis (OA) show increased morbidity and mortality. Telomere length, a measure of cellular aging, predicts increased morbidity and mortality. Telomeres shorten with persisting biological and psychosocial stress. Living with chronic OA pain is stressful. Previous research exploring telomere length in people with OA has produced inconsistent results. Considering pain severity may clarify the relationship between OA and telomeres. Objectives: We hypothesized that individuals with high OA chronic pain severity would have shorter telomeres than those with no or low chronic pain severity. Methods: One hundred thirty-six adults, ages 45 to 85 years old, with and without symptomatic knee OA were included in the analysis. Peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length was measured, and demographic, clinical, and functional data were collected. Participants were categorized into 5 pain severity groups based on an additive index of frequency, intensity, time or duration, and total number of pain sites (FITT). Covariates included age, sex, race or ethnicity, study site, and knee pain status. Results: The no or low chronic pain severity group had significantly longer telomeres compared with the high pain severity group,P= 0.025. A significant chronic pain severity dose response emerged for telomere length,P= 0.034. The FITT chronic pain severity index was highly correlated with the clinical and functional OA pain measures. However, individual clinical and functional measures were not associated with telomere length. Conclusion: Results demonstrate accelerated cellular aging with high knee OA chronic pain severity and provide evidence for the potential utility of the FITT chronic pain severity index in capturing the biological burden of chronic pain.

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Crossref · 10.1097/pr9.0000000000000591

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  • Telomere length is inversely correlated with chronic severe pain.

    “telomere length inversely correlates with chronic severe pain125”

    From Telomere dysfunction in ageing and age-related diseases (2022) · cites this paper as [125]

    The Abstract Results and §4.1 report shorter telomeres in the high chronic knee-pain severity group than in the no- or low-severity group, with a significant severity dose response. The study concerns knee osteoarthritis pain; the unqualified claim extends that finding to chronic severe pain generally. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The majority of studies find significant correlations between chronic pain or degenerative tissue associated with pain and decreased telomere length.

    “The majority of studies find significant correlations between chronic pain or degenerative tissue (associated with pain) and decreased TL [5,21–24].”

    From Exploring emotional well-being, spiritual, religious and personal beliefs and telomere length in chronic pain patients—A pilot study with cross-sectional design (2024) · cites this paper as [24]

    The Results report significantly shorter telomeres in the high knee-pain-severity group, supporting an association with chronic pain. But the Introduction describes prior osteoarthritis findings as mixed, not predominantly significant, and Discussion §4.1 reports no association between radiographic knee changes and telomere length. Our copy provides no basis for the claim about a majority of studies. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Others have found statistically significant correlations between telomere length and pain measures.

    “others have found statistically significant correlations between TL and pain measures [5,21–24].”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [9]Carlesso LC Segal N Curtis JR Wise BL Law LF Nevitt M Neogi T Knee pain severity rather than structural damage is a risk factor for incident widespread pain: the Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST) Study. Arthritis Care Res 2016. PMC5354981 27636245
  2. [28]King C Keil A Sibille K Chronic pain and perceived stress. In: Fink G, editor. Stress: concepts, cognition, emotion, and behavior. San Diego, CA: Elsevier, 2016 p. 413– 21.

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Authors
Sibille, K. T., Chen, H., Bartley, E. J., Riley, J., Glover, T. L., King, C. D., Zhang, H., Cruz-Almeida, Y., Goodin, B. R., Sotolongo, A., Petrov, M. E., Herbert, M., Bulls, H. W., Edberg, J. C., Staud, R., Redden, D., Bradley, L. A., & Fillingim, R. B.
Affiliations
  • University of Florida (US)
  • Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
  • Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
  • Arizona State University (US)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
Corresponding author
Sibille, Kimberly T.
Venue
PAIN Reports
Published
2017-05
Volume
2
Issue
3
Pages
e591
ISSN
2471-2531 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2609298444
Cited by
63
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1
FWCI
3.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PAIN Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Arizona State University Library Digital Repository (Arizona State University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida
  • National Institute on Aging (K01AG048259, K99AG052642, P30AG028740)
  • National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (K23AR062099)
  • National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (L60 MD010798)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Rheumatology › Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
Keywords
knee osteoarthritis, chronic pain, telomere length, cellular aging, pain intensity, leukocyte telomeres, psychosocial stress

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