@article {7122, title = {Pain in aging community-dwelling adults in the United States: non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics.}, journal = {J Pain}, volume = {8}, year = {2007}, month = {2007 Jan}, pages = {75-84}, publisher = {8}, abstract = {

UNLABELLED: Racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare persist in the U.S. Although pain is one of the most prevalent and disabling symptoms of disease, only a few studies have assessed disparities in pain in large racially and ethnically diverse, middle- to late aged community samples, thus limiting the generalizability of study findings in broader populations. With data from the 2000 Health and Retirement Study, we assessed the prevalence and impact of pain in a community sample of aging (> or =51 years old) non-Hispanic whites (n = 11,021), non-Hispanic blacks (n = 1,804), and Hispanics (n = 952) in the U.S. Pain, pain severity, activity limitation as a result of pain, comorbid conditions, and sociodemographic variables were assessed. Results showed that pain prevalence was 28\%, and 17\% of the sample reported activity limitation as a result of pain. Non-Hispanic blacks (odds ratio [OR], 1.78; 99\% confidence interval [CI], 1.33-2.37) and Hispanics (OR, 1.80; 99\% CI, 1.26-2.56) had higher risk for severe pain compared with non-Hispanic whites. Analyses of respondents with pain (n = 3,811) showed that having chronic diseases (2 comorbid conditions, OR, 1.5; 99\% CI, 1.09-2.17), psychological distress (OR, 1.99; 99\% CI, 1.54-2.43), being a Medicaid recipient (OR, 1.63; 99\% CI, 1.17-2.25), and lower educational level (OR, 1.45; 99\% CI, 1.14-1.85) were significant predictors for severe pain and helped to explain racial/ethnic differences in pain severity.

PERSPECTIVE: This study, which used a large racially and ethnically diverse community sample, provided empirical evidence that racial/ethnic difference in pain severity in aging community adults in the U.S. can be accounted for by differential vulnerability in terms of chronic disease, socioeconomic conditions, and access to care.

}, keywords = {Activities of Daily Living, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Black People, Chronic disease, Data collection, ethnicity, Female, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Insurance, Health, Logistic Models, Male, Middle Aged, pain, Pain Measurement, Population, Socioeconomic factors, United States, White People}, issn = {1526-5900}, doi = {10.1016/j.jpain.2006.06.002}, author = {Reyes-Gibby, Cielito C. and Aday, Lu Ann and Todd, Knox H. and Cleeland, Charles S. and Anderson, Karen O.} } @article {7091, title = {Pain, Depression, and Fatigue in Community-Dwelling Adults With and Without a History of Cancer}, journal = {Journal of Pain and Symptom Management}, volume = {32}, year = {2006}, pages = {118-28}, publisher = {32}, abstract = {The State of the Science Report by the National Cancer Institute on Symptom Management in Cancer identified gaps in understanding the epidemiology of pain, depression, and fatigue, and called for studies that will identify the extent of risk for these symptoms among those with cancer relative to other populations. Using year 2000 data from the Health and Retirement Study, a survey of a nationally representative sample of adults aged andgt;/=50, we evaluated whether respondents with a history of cancer had excess risk for pain, depression, and fatigue compared to those without a history of cancer. We also compared clustering/co-occurrence of symptoms. Controlling for the confounding effects of comorbidities, sociodemographic, and access to care factors, respondents with a history of cancer had higher risk for fatigue (OR=1.45; 95 CI=1.29,1.63), depression (OR=1.21; 95 CI=1.06,1.37), and pain (OR=1.15; 95 CI=1.03,1.28). Symptom clusters were also more prevalent among those with a history of cancer (Pandlt;0.001), with the pain-depression-fatigue cluster as most prevalent.}, keywords = {Health Conditions and Status, Risk Taking}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/}, author = {Reyes-Gibby, Cielito C. and Aday, Lu Ann and Anderson, Karen O. and Mendoza, Tito R. and Cleeland, Charles S.} }