Edited by: Mahnaz Talebi, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Reviewed by: Ana Cervera-Ferri, University of Valencia, Spain; Charles Dolladille, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen, France
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Chronic pain (CP) is one of the most disabling conditions in the elderly and seems to be a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Only one study, using national administrative health databases, assessed and demonstrated that chronic pain (all types of pain) was a risk factor for dementia, but without assessing the impact of pain medications.
To assess the impact of all types of chronic pain and the long-term use of pain medications on the person-years incidence of ADRD, a retrospective nationwide healthcare administrative data study was performed using the national inter-regime health insurance information system (SNIIRAM) to the French national health data system (SNDS). Incident people >50 years old with chronic pain, defined by at least 6-months duration analgesics treatment or by a diagnosis/long-term illness of chronic pain between 2006 and 2010, were included. Chronic pain individuals were matched with non-CP individuals by a propensity score. Individuals were followed up from 9 to 13 years to identify occurrences of ADRD from 2006.
Among 64,496 French individuals, the incidence of ADRD was higher in the chronic pain population than control (1.13% vs. 0.95%,
Our study highlights the importance of prevention, diagnosis, and management of chronic pain in elderly to reduce the risk of development and/or worsening of dementia.
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Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD, including vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal disorders according to NIH definition) are responsible for approximately 80% of diagnosed dementia cases. In 2015, the number of people affected by dementia worldwide was estimated to be nearly 47 million, and this number is expected to rise to 75 million by 2030 and 131 million by 2050, due to the aging trend in the global population (
There is no cure for ADRD and current medical management only slows its progression. Non-pharmacological approaches are favored in an attempt to preserve the patient’s autonomy and cognitive functions, and to adapt the environment to the loss of autonomy and cognitive disorders (
Chronic pain was one of the top five causes of disability (
To provide additional data, we propose a larger study using national administrative health databases and by specifically assessing the impact of all chronic pain on the incidence of ADRD, and explore the impact of the long-term use of pain medications.
This study was approved by the “
The data were obtained from the EGB (“
A control population (without chronic pain) and without dementia history or disorders, was generated by a 3:1 (3 controls for 1 chronic pain) propensity score matching a caliper of 0.005 (using the “PROC PSMATCH” procedure on the SAS Enterprise Guide software). The propensity score incorporated age, sex, comorbidity index [Charlson score, incorporating several chronic disease (
A chronic pain condition was identified over the period 2006–2010 by the Anatomical Therapeutic Classification (ATC) code of recommended treatment for chronic pain (N02, M01, M02A, N03AX12, N03AX16, N06AA04, N06AA09, N06AX16, N06AX21, N01BB02, and N01BB52), with at least 6 months duration of continuous analgesic prescription (all analgesics combined), or by the medical diagnoses of chronic pain according to the International Classification of Disease (ICD-10-R521, R522, M797) or by the LTI for chronic pain (ICD-10 - R521, R522, R529, M00-M09, M10-M19, M255, M353, M40-M49, M50-M54, M79, M890, G43, and G442), as published previously (
Chronic pain had to be incident (no diagnosis or 6-month continuous analgesic treatment before inclusion). The index date was defined as the date of chronic pain onset (diagnosis or end of the first 6-month continual period of analgesic treatment) starting the follow-up of individual. To avoid an immortality bias due to the 6-month period of analgesic treatment, control individuals who developed ADRD during the first 6 months of follow-up were excluded and replaced (matching was rerun until a ratio of 3 controls to 1 case was reached for all individuals analyzed).
An ADRD condition was identified over the period 2006–2019 by the ATC code of recommended treatment for dementia (N06DA and N06DX) or medical diagnoses according to the ICD-10 or LTI for ADRD (F00, F01, F03, G30, G310, G311 and G319), as published previously (
(i). “Onset of ADRD” = the time between inclusion and onset of ADRD,
(ii). “Death” = the time between inclusion and death,
(iii). “No event” = the time between inclusion and last follow-up.
Pain medication exposure was assessed with dispensation claims recorded in the EGB database. All recommended treatments for chronic pain were considered during the study period. Exposure was described according to cumulative dose, combining both the duration of treatment and the somewhat variable daily dose, for each person, each molecule and each therapeutic class. The cumulative dose was computed during the study time window and converted it into a number of defined daily doses (DDDs) by dividing it by the average recommended daily dose for this product, as previously published by
After case identification and characterization (gender, year of chronic pain onset, age at onset, and Charlson score at onset), controls were selected using 3 nearest neighbor propensity score matching. The propensity score was computed using logistic regression with the group (case / control) as dependent variable, and gender, index date, age and Charlson score as independent variables. Groups were described after matching using frequency and associated percentage for categorical data and mean ± standard deviation, median, interquartile range and minimum-maximum for continuous data (
Characteristics of chronic pain and control populations.
Chronic pain |
Control |
|
---|---|---|
Follow-up (years) | ||
Mean ± SD (min-max) | 9.2 ± 3.4 (0.08–13.9) | 9.5 ± 3.5 (0.08–13.9) |
Median (Q1-Q3) | 10.2 (7.8–12.2) | 10.2 (9.1–12.2) |
Age (years); Mean ± SD (min-max) | 65.6 ± 10.7 (50–102) | 65.6 ± 10.7 (50–102) |
Age groups ( |
||
50–59 years | 4,964 (36.5) | 14,892 (36.5) |
60–69 years | 3,731 (27.4) | 11,193 (27.4) |
70–79 years | 3,221 (23.7) | 9,663 (23.7) |
80–89 years | 1,494 (11.0) | 4,482 (11.0) |
≥ 90 years | 186 (1.4) | 558 (1.4) |
Female sex ( |
8,386 (61.7) | 25,158 (61.7) |
Comorbidities ( |
||
Vascular and cerebrovascular diseases | 623 (4.6) | 1,793 (4.4) |
Cardiac disorders | 502 (3.7) | 1,378 (3.4) |
Cancers | 1,053 (7.7) | 3,832 (9.4) |
Diabetes | 570 (4.2) | 930 (2.3) |
Kidney diseases | 92 (0.7) | 225 (0.6) |
Chronic lung diseases | 465 (3.4) | 994 (2.4) |
Paraplegia and hemiplegia | 99 (0.7) | 239 (0.6) |
Liver diseases | 138 (1.0) | 534 (1.3) |
Connective tissue or rheumatic diseases | 36 (0.3) | 80 (0.2) |
Peptic ulcers | 65 (0.5) | 196 (0.5) |
HIV | 7 (0.1) | 48 (0.1) |
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia incidence rates by age and sex.
Male | Female | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chronic pain | Control | Chronic pain | Control | |||||
Incidence* | Incidence | Incidence | Incidence | |||||
All | 5,210 | 9.2 | 15,630 | 7.2 | 8,386 | 12.5 | 25,158 | 10.9 |
50–54 | 913 | 1.6 | 2,739 | 0.7 | 1,411 | 2.2 | 4,233 | 0.9 |
55–59 | 1,092 | 2.6 | 3,276 | 1.2 | 1,548 | 2.8 | 4,644 | 1.4 |
60–64 | 804 | 4.8 | 2,412 | 2.3 | 1,258 | 5.1 | 3,774 | 3.0 |
65–69 | 709 | 8.0 | 2,127 | 5.2 | 960 | 9.4 | 2,880 | 6.3 |
70–74 | 679 | 13.4 | 2,037 | 14.0 | 1,070 | 17.3 | 3,210 | 16.2 |
75–79 | 498 | 26.2 | 1,494 | 21.3 | 974 | 28.2 | 2,922 | 30.4 |
80–84 | 322 | 40.1 | 966 | 31.9 | 676 | 43.8 | 2,028 | 42.9 |
85–89 | 152 | 54.2 | 456 | 43.4 | 344 | 59.4 | 1,032 | 47.9 |
90+ | 41 | 76.9 | 123 | 22.4 | 145 | 54.8 | 435 | 37.7 |
*Incidence per 1,000 person-years.
An univariate exploratory analysis of the presence of ADRD (regardless of the delay of onset) in the subgroup of chronic pain patients, taking into account the time of exposure to the different pain medications (according to molecules, therapeutic classes, and the DDDs), was performed to quantify the relationship between ADRD and medication exposure. This analysis was carried out only for exposures to each molecule/therapeutic class with a minimum of 400 individuals, as recommended for odds ratio calculations(
The results are shown by frequency, associated percentage and odds ratio with their 95% confidence interval computed in univariate logistic regression (risk of ADRD according to exposure level). Statistics were computed using the SAS software. Tests were two-tailed and a
During the inclusion period (2006–2010), 15,136 individuals over 50 years old and with chronic pain were identified. After matching, 13,596 chronic pain and 40,788 control individuals were analyzed. As expected from the matching procedure, cases and controls were comparable in terms of age (66 years), sex (62% female), and Charlson score (0.4). Chronic pain and control individuals had a median follow-up time of 10.2 years. For the two groups and with similar proportions, the most common comorbidities were cancer, cerebrovascular disease, heart disease, and diabetes (
Characteristics of chronic pain and pain medications.
Chronic Pain group ( |
|
---|---|
Types of chronic pain ( |
|
Neuropathic pain | 538 (4.0) |
Joint/rheumatic pain and arthropathy/spondylopathy | 1,055 (7.8) |
Back pain/Dorsopathy | 944 (6.9) |
Migraine/headache | 4 (0.03) |
Others pain | 214 (1.6) |
Unknown | 11,197 (82.4) |
Prescribed pain medications ( |
|
Opioids | 8,725 (64.2) |
835 (6.1) | |
0 | |
472 (3.5) | |
5,779 (42.5) | |
3,478 (25.6) | |
680 (5.0) | |
5,079 (37.4) | |
Non-opioids analgesics (mainly paracetamol) | 11,513 (84.7) |
Triptans | 695 (5.1) |
Anti-inflammatory creams | 7,814 (57.5) |
Oral anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) | 10,030 (73.8) |
Antiepileptics | 2,062 (15.2) |
602 (4.4) | |
1,758 (12.9) | |
Antidepressants | 2,761 (20.3) |
1,248 (9.2) | |
1,915 (14.1) | |
Anesthetics (lidocaine) | 2,720 (20.0) |
No prescribed drug treatment | 839 (6.2) |
Survival analyzes with the Kaplan–Meier method showed that the death rate was greater (
Cumulative incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias according to the presence of chronic pain. The incidence was calculated using the Fine and Gray method with lost of follow-up as censored and death as competitive risk. Blue: Chronic pain group and Red: Control group.
Therefore, Kaplan–Meier survival curves (univariate analysis), according to the Fine and Gray model with death as competing factor, were obtained (
Multivariable analyze of the association between chronic pain and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Only factors significantly related to the presence of ADRD in the univariate analysis are shown. HR, Hazard Ratio; LCL, Lower Confidence Limit; UCL, Upper Confidence Limit.
Sensitivity analysis showed that the incidence of ADRD was higher for women (12.5 cases per 1,000 person-years vs. 9.2 cases for men) and increased significantly with age (50–59 year-olds, 1.6–2.2 cases per 1,000 person-years, +90 year-olds: 54.8–76.9 cases per 1,000 person-years, and according to sex;
Univariate analysis of confounding factors related to the development of ADRD showed that chronic pain increased the risk of developing ADRD [HR = 1.15 (1.08–1.22),
Cumulative incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and/or death according to the presence of chronic pain. The incidence was calculated using the Kaplan Meier method.
Multivariable analysis confirmed the previous results with an HR of 1.23 [1.15–1.32] of developing ADRD for the chronic pain group (
Univariate analyze of the association between chronic pain and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. HR, Hazard Ratio; LCL, Lower Confidence Limit; UCL, Upper Confidence Limit.
Exploratory analyzes were performed to assess the relationship between exposure to classes of pain medications [NSAIDs, opioids, non-opioids (mainly paracetamol), antiepileptics, tricyclic antidepressants, serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, and anti-rheumatic] and the presence of ADRD. The analysis of DDDs showed that only the use of NSAIDs was correlated with a lower presence of ADRD and depended on the duration of exposure [mild exposure = OR 0.93, 95%CI (0.82–1.05); moderate exposure = OR 0.67, 95%CI (0.54–0.85); and strong exposure = OR 0.72, 95%CI (0.58–0.89)]. In contrast, only the use of non-opioid analgesics and opioids was correlated with a more frequent occurrence of ADRD, depending on the duration of exposure [non-opioid analgesics: mild exposure = OR 1.76, 95%CI (1.39–2.23); moderate exposure = OR 2.54, 95%CI (2.00–3.24); and strong exposure = OR 2.83, 95%CI (2.23–3.60); opioids: mild exposure = OR 1.10, 95%CI (0.97–1.24); moderate exposure = OR 1.21, 95%CI (1.00–1.47); and strong exposure = OR 1.24, 95%CI (1.02–1.49)]. Looking at all analgesic treatments, only continuous analgesic use over a 24-month period seems to be linked to the presence of ADRD [OR 1.23, 95%CI (1.10–1.38)] (
Assessment of relationships between the therapeutic classes of pain medications exposures and development of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
ADRD | Odd Ratio OR [95%CI] | Value of |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NO ( |
YES ( |
||||
NSAIDs–Defined daily dose DDD (months) | |||||
0 DDD | 3,842 | 493 | REF | REF | |
Frequency (%) | 31,5 | 34,8 | |||
<3 DDDs | 6,064 | 720 | 0.93 [0.82–1.05] | 0.210 | |
Frequency (%) | 49,8 | 50,8 | |||
≥3 and < = 12 DDDs** | 1,123 | 97 | |||
Frequency (%) | 9,2 | 6,9 | |||
> 12 DDDs | 1,151 | 106 | |||
Frequency (%) | 9,4 | 7,5 | |||
OPIOIDS–Defined daily dose DDD (months) | |||||
0 DDD | 5,098 | 549 | REF | REF | |
Frequency (%) | 41,9 | 38,8 | |||
<3 DDDs | 4,713 | 551 | 1.10 [0.97–1.24] | 0.153 | |
Frequency (%) | 38,7 | 38,9 | |||
≥3 and < = 15 DDDs | 1,155 | 150 | |||
Frequency (%) | 9,5 | 10,6 | |||
> 15 DDDs | 1,214 | 166 | |||
Frequency (%) | 10,0 | 11,7 | |||
NON-OPIOIDS–Defined daily dose DDD (months) | |||||
0 DDD | 1,535 | 86 | REF | REF | |
Frequency (%) | 12,6 | 6,1 | |||
<3 DDDs | 5,245 | 518 | |||
Frequency (%) | 43,1 | 36,6 | |||
≥3 and < = 18 DDDs | 2,718 | 387 | |||
Frequency (%) | 22,3 | 27,3 | |||
> 18 DDDs | 2,682 | 425 | |||
Frequency (%) | 22,0 | 30,0 | |||
ANTI-RHEUMATIC–Defined daily dose DDD (months) | |||||
0 DDD | 8,807 | 989 | REF | REF | |
Frequency (%) | 72,3 | 69,8 | |||
<3 DDDs | 1,506 | 192 | 1.11 [0.94–1.30] | 0.21 | |
Frequency (%) | 12,4 | 13,6 | |||
≥3 and < = 16 DDDs | 920 | 118 | 1.11 [0.91–1.36] | 0.32 | |
Frequency (%) | 7,6 | 8,3 | |||
> 16 DDDs | 947 | 117 | 1.07 [0.88–1.31] | 0.55 | |
Frequency (%) | 7,8 | 8,3 | |||
TRICYCLIC ANTIDEPRESSANTS–Defined daily dose DDD (months) | |||||
0 DDD | 11,060 | 1,288 | REF | REF | |
Frequency (%) | 90,8 | 91,0 | |||
<3 DDDs | 918 | 107 | 1.02 [0.83–1.26] | 0.91 | |
Frequency (%) | 7,5 | 7,6 | |||
≥3 and < = 15 DDDs | 95 | 15 | NA* | NA | |
Frequency (%) | 0,8 | 1,1 | |||
> 15 DDDs | 107 | 6 | NA | NA | |
Frequency (%) | 0,9 | 0,4 | |||
ANTIEPILEPTICS–Defined daily dose DDD (months) | |||||
0 DDD | 10,349 | 1,185 | REF | REF | |
Frequency (%) | 85,0 | 83,7 | |||
<3 DDDs | 1,269 | 163 | 1.12 [0.94–1.33] | 0.22 | |
Frequency (%) | 10,4 | 11,5 | |||
≥3 and < = 15 DDDs | 275 | 38 | NA | NA | |
Frequency (%) | 2,3 | 2,7 | |||
> 15 DDDs | 287 | 30 | NA | NA | |
Frequency (%) | 2,4 | 2,1 | |||
SNRI ANTIDEPRESSANTS–Defined daily dose DDD (months) | |||||
0 DDD | 12,031 | 1,403 | REF | REF | |
Frequency (%) | 98,8 | 99,1 | |||
<3 DDDs | 52 | 9 | NA | NA | |
Frequency (%) | 0,4 | 0,6 | |||
≥3 and < = 22 DDDs | 48 | 3 | NA | NA | |
Frequency (%) | 0,4 | 0,2 | |||
> 22 DDDs | 49 | 1 | NA | NA | |
Frequency (%) | 0,4 | 0,1 | |||
ALL PAIN MEDICATIONS–Defined daily dose DDD (months) | |||||
0 DDD | 925 | 42 | REF | REF | |
Frequency (%) | 7.6 | 3.0 | |||
<3 DDDs | 2,470 | 265 | 0.91 [0.79; 1.05] | 0.17 | |
Frequency (%) | 20.3 | 18.7 | |||
≥3 and < = 24 DDDs | 4,384 | 528 | 1.06 [0.95; 1.19] | 0.35 | |
Frequency (%) | 36.0 | 37.3 | |||
> 24 DDDs | 4,401 | 581 | |||
Frequency (%) | 36.1 | 41.0 |
*NA; not applicable, minimum size not reached for odd ratio analysis. **Median of the distribution of DDDs in individuals with a DDD ≥ 3 months.
Bold value means statistically significant.
A second analysis was also carried out according to exposure to different analgesic molecules (see
Impact of the exposure of paracetamol and dextropropoxyphene on the presence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Pain medications | Defined daily dose DDD (months) | Non-ADRD group |
ADRD group |
Odd Ratio OR [95%CI] | Value of |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paracetamol | 0 DDD | 3,842 (31.5) | 493 (34.8) | REF | REF |
<3 DDDs | 6,064 (49.8) | 720 (50.8) | 1.75 [1.38–2.21] | ||
≥3 and < = 18 DDDs* | 1,123 (9.2) | 97 (6.8) | 2.51 [1.97–3.19] | ||
> 18 DDDs | 1,151 (9.4) | 106 (7.5) | 2.80 [2.20–3.55] | ||
Dextropropoxyphene | 0 DDD | 1,535 (12.6) | 86 (6.1) | REF | REF |
<3 DDDs | 5,245 (43.1) | 518 (36.6) | 1.28 [1.14–1.45] | ||
≥3 and < = 12 DDDs** | 2,718 (22.3) | 387 (27.3) | 1.45 [1.12–1.89] | ||
> 12 DDDs | 2,682 (22.0) | 425 (30.0) | 1.90 [1.49–2.41] |
*Median of the distribution of DDDs in individuals with a DDD ≥ 3 months.
Bold value means statistically significant.
This retrospective study using administrative data examined the influence of chronic pain on the incidence of ADRD and provides recent data that are complementary to those in the literature. Our results showed that the presence of chronic pain is associated with a higher incidence and risk of developing ADRD when compared with older adults with no chronic pain. When exploring separately the different pain medications, a greater risk with long-term use of opioids and paracetamol was observed for developing ADRD. Although several cross-sectional/cohort studies reported association between chronic pain and ADRD (
Our results concerning the characteristics of people with chronic pain showed a higher comorbidity score than control at the end of the follow-up, consistent with the burden of chronic pain (
An important point concerns the confounding factors associated with chronic pain that impact cognition, such as depression, analgesic and psychotropic medications, and comorbidities. Previous literature has suggested that a number of factors are thought to influence the association between cognition and chronic pain, such as age, gender, depression, and benzodiazepine or opioid use (
Although our study was not designed to demonstrate causality, many hypotheses have been advanced to explain potential mechanisms by which chronic pain may interfere with cognition. The characteristics of cognitive dysfunction associated with chronic pain have been described as a decrease in attention span and impaired memory function (
Finally, concerning pain medications exposure, NSAIDs have been shown to be correlated with a lower presence of ADRD. In contrast, non-opioid analgesics (mainly paracetamol) and opioids were associated with a greater presence of ADRD. These results are consistent with those previously published, showing a protective effect of NSAIDs against dementia (
First, the identification of people suffering from chronic pain can only be done by medical diagnosis, LTI or the presence of a continuity of pain medications. This implies that individuals who have not been diagnosed for their chronic pain and who are not treated by reimbursed painkillers are not identified, with a potential underestimation of chronic pain patients. Second limitation is the reliability of the data reported in the administrative databases, with risks of error or non-coding of some pathologies or the care received. This is the case for chronic pain (
In conclusion, our results suggest that chronic pain is a risk factor for the development of an ADRD independently of various confounders. Combined with the fact that chronic pain can lead to decreased mobility, interfere with daily activities, and increase the risk of falls and additional injuries, our study reinforces the importance of prevention, diagnosis, and management of chronic pain with adapted pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies to limit resulting comorbidities, such as dementias and Alzheimer’s disease. This is especially important in the elderly, who may have difficulty expressing their pain and are at greater risk of developing dementias. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to clarify the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in relationship between chronic pain, long-term use of pain medications and dementia (
The datasets presented in this article are not readily available because French law prohibits the authors from directly sharing the data used for this study, but access can be requested directly from SNDS (website:
The studies involving humans were approved by IRB00013412, “CHU de Clermont-Ferrand IRB #1,” IRB number 2022-CF039. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent for participation was not required from the participants or the participants’ legal guardians/next of kin in accordance with the national legislation and institutional requirements.
NK, NB, AM, and CB contributed to conception and design of the study. NB and AM organized the database and performed the statistical analysis. NB wrote the first draft of the manuscript. NK, AM, and NB wrote sections of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
The authors would like to thank the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie–CNAM for data accessibility and ReDSiam network for the algorithms. The authors would like to thank Keith Hudson (AccentEurope, Ecully, France) for proofreading.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: