About this Research Topic
Pain is prevalent, yet often underdetected and undertreated in older adults. Both acute and chronic pain are frequently underdiagnosed, leading to undertreatment in clinical practices with important consequences on patients' clinical trajectories. Undertreated pain is often associated with higher rates of clinical conditions such as delirium, cognitive impairment, depression, and functional decline. However, evidence on the prevalence, assessment, and management of pain is lacking, particularly among the oldest old (≥ 85 years old) population.
The aim of this Research Topic is to investigate pain among the older adult population, with a particular focus on its relation to multimorbidity and frailty. Appropriate diagnostic tools and pharmacological and non-pharmacological management strategies in patients with frailty are of particular interest. Articles focusing on the clinical implications of pain and its management will be considered in medical and surgical settings.
This Research Topic encompasses a broad range of articles on both acute and chronic pain in older adults (≥65 years), in community and outpatients, hospitals (medical and/or surgical wards), and long-term care settings. We encourage the submission of manuscripts such as original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, systematic reviews, clinical trials, case reports, perspectives, opinions, and study protocols relevant to this article collection that will cover topics such as (but not limited to):
● The epidemiology of pain among older adults, especially the oldest old population, with a focus on functional, cognitive, mood, and quality-of-life aspects.
● The clinical association between pain, frailty, disability, and mortality.
● The specificities of pain in older persons, including pain in common chronic conditions such as cancer, chronic joint disorder, and other musculoskeletal conditions, chronic post-traumatic conditions, and particular types of pain such as chronic headache, neuropathic pain, and post-herpetic neuralgia.
● The diagnostic tools for pain that are suitable for various care settings, patient comorbidities, and common geriatric conditions such as cognitive impairment/dementia, depression, sensorial impairment, and physical disability.
● Pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management in various clinical settings. Appropriate pain management in older adults. Management of peri-operative pain and associations with delirium.
● Challenges of pharmacological pain treatment such as management of polypharmacy, prescription of potentially inappropriate medications, and deprescribing.
● Pain preventive interventions in older persons.
COI: Dr. Sofia Duque has received fees from Nestle, Nutricia, Fresenius Kabi, Abbott Nutrition, Sanofi, GSK, Tecnimede, Menarini and Laboratorios Vitoria.
The aim of this Research Topic is to investigate pain among the older adult population, with a particular focus on its relation to multimorbidity and frailty. Appropriate diagnostic tools and pharmacological and non-pharmacological management strategies in patients with frailty are of particular interest. Articles focusing on the clinical implications of pain and its management will be considered in medical and surgical settings.
This Research Topic encompasses a broad range of articles on both acute and chronic pain in older adults (≥65 years), in community and outpatients, hospitals (medical and/or surgical wards), and long-term care settings. We encourage the submission of manuscripts such as original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, systematic reviews, clinical trials, case reports, perspectives, opinions, and study protocols relevant to this article collection that will cover topics such as (but not limited to):
● The epidemiology of pain among older adults, especially the oldest old population, with a focus on functional, cognitive, mood, and quality-of-life aspects.
● The clinical association between pain, frailty, disability, and mortality.
● The specificities of pain in older persons, including pain in common chronic conditions such as cancer, chronic joint disorder, and other musculoskeletal conditions, chronic post-traumatic conditions, and particular types of pain such as chronic headache, neuropathic pain, and post-herpetic neuralgia.
● The diagnostic tools for pain that are suitable for various care settings, patient comorbidities, and common geriatric conditions such as cognitive impairment/dementia, depression, sensorial impairment, and physical disability.
● Pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management in various clinical settings. Appropriate pain management in older adults. Management of peri-operative pain and associations with delirium.
● Challenges of pharmacological pain treatment such as management of polypharmacy, prescription of potentially inappropriate medications, and deprescribing.
● Pain preventive interventions in older persons.
COI: Dr. Sofia Duque has received fees from Nestle, Nutricia, Fresenius Kabi, Abbott Nutrition, Sanofi, GSK, Tecnimede, Menarini and Laboratorios Vitoria.
Keywords: Pain, Older adults, Oldest old, Assessment, Management
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
