Highlights
- •Pain predicts the development of functional limitation and disability after one year.
- •Pain decreases the chances of recovery from functional limitation or disability.
- •Education cannot prevent the onset of functional limitation and disability for those with pain.
- •Education facilitates the recovery from functional limitation or disability for those with pain.
Abstract
Previous literature has rarely examined the role of pain in the process of disablement.
We investigate how pain associates with disability transitions among older adults,
using educational attainment as a moderator. Data are from the National Health and
Aging Trends Study, N=6,357; 33,201 one-year transitions between 2010-2020. We estimate
multinomial logistic models predicting incidence or onset of and recovery from functional
limitation and disability. Results show pain significantly predicts functional limitation
and disability onset one year after a baseline observation, and decreases odds of
recovery from functional limitation or disability. Contrary to expectations, higher
education does not buffer the association of pain in onset of disability, but supporting
expectations, it facilitates recovery from functional limitation or disability among
those with pain. The analysis implicates pain as having a key role in the disablement
process and suggests that education may moderate this with respect to coping with
and subsequently recovering from disability.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 17,
2023
Received in revised form:
January 6,
2023
Received:
August 3,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc.
