Poor sleep increases pain in later life

Low quality sleep increases risk of widespread pain later in life says a UK study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

And anxiety, memory impairment and poor physical health among older adults may increase the risk of developing widespread pain too.

Muscle, bone and nerve (musculoskeletal) pain is more prevalent as people age, with up to 80% of people 65 years of age and older experiencing daily pain. Widespread pain that affects multiple areas of the body — the hallmark feature of fibromyalgia — affects 15% of women and 10% of men over age 50 years according to previous studies.

A team from Keele University collected data on pain, psychological and physical health, lifestyle and demographic information from 4,326 adults over the age of 50 who were free of widespread pain at the start of the study (1,562 people reported no pain and 2,764 had some pain). Participants were followed up three years later for the development of widespread pain.

Results show that at follow-up, 800 (19%) reported new widespread pain. The development of new widespread pain was greater in those with some pain at the start of the study; 679 (25%) of those with some pain and 121 (8%) of those with no pain at the start developed new widespread pain at three year follow-up.

Pain status, anxiety, physical health-related quality of life, cognitive complaint and non-restorative sleep were associated with increased risk of widespread pain development, after adjusting for osteoarthritis. Increasing age was associated with a decreased likelihood of the development of widespread pain.

“While osteoarthritis is linked to new onset of widespread pain, our findings also found that poor sleep, cognition, and physical and psychological health may increase pain risk,” says Dr McBeth who was involved in the work. “Combined interventions that treat both site-specific and widespread pain are needed for older adults.”