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Pain and Pain Medication among Older People with Intellectual Disabilities in Comparison with the General Population

Axmon, Anna LU orcid ; Ahlström, Gerd LU orcid and Westergren, Hans LU (2018) In Healthcare 6(2). p.1-12
Abstract
Little is known about pain and pain treatment among people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). We aimed to describe pain and pain medications among older people with ID compared to the general population. Data on diagnoses and prescriptions were collected from national registers for the period between 2006 and 2012 for 7936 people with an ID and a referent cohort from the general population. IDs were associated with a decreased risk of being diagnosed with headaches, musculoskeletal pain, and pain related to the circulatory and respiratory systems, but they were associated with increased risk of being diagnosed with pain related to the urinary system. Among men, IDs were associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with visceral... (More)
Little is known about pain and pain treatment among people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). We aimed to describe pain and pain medications among older people with ID compared to the general population. Data on diagnoses and prescriptions were collected from national registers for the period between 2006 and 2012 for 7936 people with an ID and a referent cohort from the general population. IDs were associated with a decreased risk of being diagnosed with headaches, musculoskeletal pain, and pain related to the circulatory and respiratory systems, but they were associated with increased risk of being diagnosed with pain related to the urinary system. Among men, IDs were associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with visceral pain. People with IDs were more likely to be prescribed paracetamol and fentanyl regardless of the type of pain but were less likely to be prescribed COX(1+2) and COX2 inhibitors and weak opioids. Healthcare staff and caregivers must be made aware of signs of pain among people with IDs who may not be able to communicate it themselves. Further research is needed to investigate whether people with IDs are prescribed paracetamol rather than other pain drugs due to physicians trying to avoid polypharmacy or if there are other reasons not to prescribe a greater range of pain treatments. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cognitive dysfunction, fentanyl, headache, musculoskeletal pain, paracetamol, visceral pain
in
Healthcare
volume
6
issue
2
article number
67
pages
1 - 12
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • pmid:29914061
  • scopus:85064160326
ISSN
2227-9032
DOI
10.3390/healthcare6020067
project
Ageing persons with intellectual disability, health and mortality, healthcare utilization and social welfare: a Swedish national longitudinal population study
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0e00d45d-cdb4-403a-81af-9c4882d09d19
date added to LUP
2018-06-20 13:54:41
date last changed
2022-04-25 08:02:37
@article{0e00d45d-cdb4-403a-81af-9c4882d09d19,
  abstract     = {{Little is known about pain and pain treatment among people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). We aimed to describe pain and pain medications among older people with ID compared to the general population. Data on diagnoses and prescriptions were collected from national registers for the period between 2006 and 2012 for 7936 people with an ID and a referent cohort from the general population. IDs were associated with a decreased risk of being diagnosed with headaches, musculoskeletal pain, and pain related to the circulatory and respiratory systems, but they were associated with increased risk of being diagnosed with pain related to the urinary system. Among men, IDs were associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with visceral pain. People with IDs were more likely to be prescribed paracetamol and fentanyl regardless of the type of pain but were less likely to be prescribed COX(1+2) and COX2 inhibitors and weak opioids. Healthcare staff and caregivers must be made aware of signs of pain among people with IDs who may not be able to communicate it themselves. Further research is needed to investigate whether people with IDs are prescribed paracetamol rather than other pain drugs due to physicians trying to avoid polypharmacy or if there are other reasons not to prescribe a greater range of pain treatments.}},
  author       = {{Axmon, Anna and Ahlström, Gerd and Westergren, Hans}},
  issn         = {{2227-9032}},
  keywords     = {{cognitive dysfunction; fentanyl; headache; musculoskeletal pain; paracetamol; visceral pain}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{1--12}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Healthcare}},
  title        = {{Pain and Pain Medication among Older People with Intellectual Disabilities in Comparison with the General Population}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare6020067}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/healthcare6020067}},
  volume       = {{6}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}