Association Between Pain and Frailty in Middle-Aged and Older Patients: The Mediating Roles of Sleep and Mood.

Abstract

Purpose: Pain and frailty are significantly social concerns negatively affecting physical and mental health in middle-aged and older population. This study aimed to investigate the association between pain and frailty, with a particular focus on the mediating roles of sleep and mood.

Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 244 middle-aged and older participants in local hospital. Their pain, frailty, sleep and mental health conditions were assessed through face-to-face interviews. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between pain and frailty. Simple and serial mediation models were employed to investigate the complex mediation effects of sleep and mood on pain and frailty.

Results: Significant effects were observed in both the pain-frailty nexus and the frailty-pain nexus. For simple mediation models, we identified significant mediation effects of sleep (β_Sleep =0.049, 95% CI: 0.011, 0.094), anxiety (β_Anxiety =0.054, 95% CI: 0.023, 0.094), and depression (β_Depression =0.093, 95% CI: 0.049, 0.150) in the pain-frailty nexus. Similarly, in the frailty-pain nexus, sleep (β_Sleep =0.096, 95% CI: 0.043, 0.162), anxiety (β_Anxiety =0.085, 95% CI: 0.029, 0.156), and depression (β_Depression =0.126, 95% CI: 0.056, 0.208) continued to be significant mediators, while sleep and depression had more significant mediating effects than anxiety. Serial mediation models revealed that sleep and depression jointly played a sequential mediation role in the frailty-pain nexus ( β_a =0.020, 95% CI: 0.002, 0.044; β_b =0.043, 95% CI: 0.014, 0.081).

Conclusion: Our research provided evidence supporting the robust association between pain and frailty and offered new sights into potential strategies by enhancing sleep quality and mental health for preventing and managing both pain and frailty.