Jemima T Collins, David A Walsh, John R F Gladman, Monica Patrascu, Bettina S Husebo, Esmee Adam, Alison Cowley, Adam L Gordon, Giulia Ogliari, Hanneke Smaling, Wilco Achterberg
Pain and frailty are closely linked. Chronic pain is a risk factor for frailty, and frailty is a risk factor for pain. People living with frailty also commonly have cognitive impairment, which can make assessment of pain and monitoring of pain management even more difficult. Pain may be sub-optimally treated in people living with frailty, people living with cognitive impairment and those with both these factors. Reasons for sub-optimal treatment in these groups are pharmacological (increased drug side effects, drug-drug interactions, polypharmacy), non-pharmacological (erroneous beliefs about pain, ageism, bidirectional communication challenges), logistical (difficulty in accessing primary care practitioners and unaffordable cost of drugs), and, particularly in cognitive impairment, related to communication difficulties...
February 24, 2024: Drugs & Aging