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Chronic Pain and Obesity in Elderly People: Results from the Einstein Aging Study
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of chronic pain in elderly people and its relationship with obesity and associated comorbidities and risk factors. DESIGN: Cross‐sectional. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: A representative community sample of 840 subjects aged 70 and older. MEASUREMENTS: The prevalence of chronic pain and its relationship with obesity (categories defined according to body mass index (BMI)), other medical risk factors, and psychiatric comorbidities were examined. Chronic pain was defined as pain of at least moderate severity (≥4 on a 10‐point scale) some, most, or all of the time for the previous 3 months. RESULTS: The sample was mostly female (62.8%), and the average age was 80 (range 70–101). The prevalence of chronic pain was 52% (39.7% in men; 58.9% in women). Subjects with chronic pain were more likely to report a diagnosis of depression (odds ratio (OR)=2.5, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.40–4.55) and anxiety (OR=2.3, 95% CI=1.22–4.64). Obese subjects (BMI 30–34.9) were twice as likely (OR=2.1, 95%CI=1.33–3.28) and severely obese subjects (BMI≥35) were more than four times as likely (OR=4.5, 95% CI=1.85–12.63) as those of normal weight (BMI 18.5–24.9) to have chronic pain. Obese subjects were significantly more likely to have chronic pain in the head, neck or shoulder, back, legs or feet, and abdomen or pelvis than subjects who were not obese. In multivariate models, obesity (OR=2.0, 95% CI=1.27–3.26) and severe obesity (OR=4.1, 95% CI=1.57–10.82) were associated with chronic pain after adjusting for age, sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, depression, anxiety, and education. CONCLUSION: Chronic pain is common in this elderly population, affects women more than men, and is highly associated with obesity.
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“Furthermore, obesity in the elderly can favor joint dysfunction, chronic pain, disabilities relating to activities of daily living, and frailty, damaging functional status more than obesity or sarcopenia alone [31, 67–70].”
From The critical role of oxidative stress in sarcopenic obesity (2021) · cites this paper as [68]
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“Chronic pain is the main driver of obesity-related disability, explained by increased mechanical load, low-grade inflammation and consequences of cardiometabolic disease (peripheral neuropathy and claudication) [23].”
From Obesity pharmacotherapy in older adults: a narrative review of evidence (2025) · cites this paper as [23]
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“Weight reduction in overweight individuals can also impact physical function indirectly by reducing pain(McCarthy, Bigal, Katz, Derby, and Lipton 2009)”
From Successful aging: Advancing the science of physical independence in older adults (2015) · cites this paper as McCarthy, Bigal, Katz, Derby, and Lipton 2009
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Metadata
- Authors
- McCarthy, L. H., Bigal, M. E., Katz, M., Derby, C., & Lipton, R. B.
- Affiliations
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
- Venue
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-12-31
- Volume
- 57
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 115-119
- ISSN
- 0002-8614 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-5415
- PMC
- PMC2763486
- OpenAlex
- W2169512551
- Cited by
- 251
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 7.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- U.S. Public Health Service (AGO3949)
- National Institute on Aging (P01AG003949)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
- Keywords
- chronic pain, obesity, older adults, morbid obesity, body mass index, depression, anxiety, comorbidities, prevalence, sex differences, back pain, neck and shoulder pain, abdominal pain, Einstein Aging Study
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Chronic Disease, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Obesity, Pain, Risk Factors, Comorbidity, Prevalence
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