Pain in older people with frailty

Abstract

In this review we identified cohort and cross-sectional studies which assessed pain in community-dwelling older people (> 65 years) reliably characterised as frail. Secondly, we considered biologically plausible mechanisms which may alter pain perception, or contribute to, or exacerbate pain in an older person with frailty. Thirdly, we considered specific implications of pain management for this group of people. From the limited data from the seven included studies, it would appear that the presence of pain is higher in older people with frailty compared to people characterised as pre-frail or not frail. Thus, older people reporting pain are more likely to be frail. However, a lack of prospective data precludes inferences about the direction of the relationship: that is whether pain or frailty is the antecedent. Further research is needed to understand the direction of the relationship, and to identify appropriate pain management strategies for older people with frailty.