A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF PAIN - REPORTED PAIN FROM MIDDLE-AGE TO OLD-AGE

Objective: Describe patterns of pain reporting over a span of 24 years . Design: Individuals were interviewed on four occasions (1968, 1974, 1981, 1992). Participants: Representative sample (n = 321) of the Swed ish population aged 53-63 at baseline. Measures: Self-reported pain in the chest, abdomen, and musculoskeletal system (back or hips, shoulde rs, hands, elbows, legs, or knees). Results: Less than 1% reported che st or abdominal pain on all four occasions, whereas 21.8% of the sampl e reported musculoskeletal pain on all four occasions. More than half of the sample reported some kind of pain on three or four occasions. W omen reported more severe and more persistent pain compared with men. There were more people who developed pain during the 24-year period th an there were who became pain free. An increase in pain was equally co mmon for chest and musculoskeletal pain, but a decrease in pain was mu ch more common for musculoskeletal pain than chest pain. Conclusions: Cross-sectional studies have shown differing age patterns in pain. Thi s longitudinal study demonstrates different patterns for men and women and for different pain localities.