The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain
and use of analgesic drugs in a population of very old people. The investi
gation is based on data from the Kungsholmen project. Of the 2638 inhabitan
ts aged 75 or more in a parish of central Stockholm 1800 were examined. Of
the subjects. 60% reported trouble with pain at musculoskeletal locations,
while only 40% of the pain reporting subjects used analgesics, one third of
which were non-prescription minor analgesics. Prescription analgesics (non
-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs or centrally acting drugs) were used by o
ne fourth of the pain reporting subjects, and taken on a regular basis in o
nly half of the cases. Potent opioids were used by less than 1% of the popu
lation. There was no increase in pain with increasing age, but an increase
in use of minor analgesics with age > 85. Women more often reported pain an
d had a higher consumption of analgesics. Light opioids were more often use
d by subjects with multifocal pain. Subjects living in sheltered accommodat
ion used more analgesics, particularly light opioids, than did those living
in their own homes or in institutions. Subjects with low or intermediate e
ducational status more often reported pain and used light opioids to a larg
er extent than did the highly educated. These results indicate that musculo
skeletal pain is relatively common among the very old, but does not seem to
be a severe problem for the majority, considering the low proportion of su
bjects using prescription analgesics regularly. However, the very low use o
f potent opioids indicates that some of the elderly suffering from cancer a
nd other severe pain causing diseases might be undertreated. (C) 1999 Elsev
ier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.