Chronic Pain Impairs Quality of Life for Middle-Aged Men and Women

Middle-aged men and women who are often troubled by pain that was moderate or severe most of the time experience difficulties with everyday tasks.  A study by Kenneth E. Covinsky, from University of California San Francisco (USA), and colleagues followed 18,531 men and women, ages 50 and over, and found that 24% of the study subjects were often troubled by moderate or severe pain, resulting in significant difficulties in coping with everyday physical challenges.  Only 9% of those aged 50 to 59 with chronic pain were able to jog one mile (compared to 37% of the pain-free participants); and only 50% of those experiencing chronic pain could walk several blocks without problems (compared to 91% of the pain-free group).    Concluding that: “Subjects with pain develop the functional limitations classically associated with aging at much earlier ages,” the team extrapolated that chronic pain suffers in their 50s appear 20 to 30 years older than those who do not experience chronic pain.