Papers of the Week

Subgroup analyses conducted among U.S. national survey data have estimated that 27-34% of adults aged ≥65 years have chronic pain. However, none of these studies focused specifically on older adults or examined disparities in chronic pain in those aged ≥65 years. To obtain current information on the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of chronic pain in U.S. older adults, a cross-sectional analysis was conducted of data collected from 3,505 older adults recruited from the AmeriSpeak® Panel. Chronic pain was defined as pain on most or every day in the last three months. Nationally representative chronic pain prevalence estimates were computed by incorporating study-specific survey design weights. Logistic regression analyses evaluated differences in chronic pain status as a function of sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status). Results indicated that 37.8% of older adults reported chronic pain. Compared to White older adults, Black (OR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4-0.8) and Asian (OR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.8) older adults were less likely to report chronic pain. The prevalence of chronic pain was also lower among those who reported the highest (vs. lowest) household income (OR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4-0.8). Those who were not working due to disability (vs. working as a paid employee) were more likely to report chronic pain (OR = 3.2, 95% CI: 2.1-5.0). This study was the first to recruit a large, representative sample of older adults to estimate the prevalence of chronic pain and extends prior work by identifying sub-groups of older adults that are disproportionately affected. PERSPECTIVE: This study was the first to estimate the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of chronic pain among a large, representative sample of U.S. older adults. Findings underscore the high prevalence of chronic pain and highlight disparities in chronic pain prevalence rates among this historically understudied population.