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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1520735
This article is part of the Research Topic Enhancing Geriatric Care: International Collaboration and Best Practices for Aging Populations View all 4 articles

The Impact of Diabetes on Chronic Pain in Different Body Regions Among Adults Aged 50 and Older: A Cross-sectional Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Min Ding Min Ding 1Anle Ding Anle Ding 2*Lijie Zhu Lijie Zhu 1Xiaoyun Xie Xiaoyun Xie 1*
  • 1 Department of Interventional and Vascular Surgery, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
  • 2 First People's Hospital of Huainan, Huainan, Anhui Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study investigates the association between diabetes and chronic pain across various body regions in individuals aged 50 years and older, while assessing the influence of gender, hypertension status, age, and glycemic control on this relationship.Data from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) database included 10,315 participants, with 1,983 diabetic and 8,332 non-diabetic individuals. Logistic regression models assessed the relationship between diabetes and chronic pain, adjusting for confounders. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on gender, age, and hypertension status, and the risk of pain in diabetic patients with well-controlled glycemia was compared to that in non-diabetic individuals.Diabetes significantly increased the risk of pain in multiple body regions (p < 0.05). Diabetes was associated with a higher risk of headaches in males (OR = 1.33 (1.05-1. 69), p = 0.02) and individuals aged 65 or older (OR = 1.28 (1.04-1.58), p = 0.02). Among non-hypertensive individuals, diabetes was not associated with an increased risk of pain. In females, hypertensives, and individuals under 65, diabetes significantly increased pain across multiple regions (p < 0.05). Diabetic individuals with well-controlled glycemia still showed a higher risk of finger (OR = 1.34 (1.03-1.76), p = 0.03) and toe pain (OR = 1.44 (1.05-1.99), p = 0.03) compared to non-diabetics.Diabetes is linked to increased pain in multiple body regions, especially in females, hypertensives, and those under 65. Even with good glycemic control, diabetic individuals remain at higher risk for finger and toe pain.

    Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Pain, Aged, Blood glucose control, Cross-sectional Analysis 1

    Received: 31 Oct 2024; Accepted: 03 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ding, Ding, Zhu and Xie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Anle Ding, First People's Hospital of Huainan, Huainan, 232000, Anhui Province, China
    Xiaoyun Xie, Department of Interventional and Vascular Surgery, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

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