Pain, aging and dementia: Towards a biopsychosocial model

dc.contributor.authorGagliese, Lucia
dc.contributor.authorGauthier, Lynn
dc.contributor.authorNarain, Nadine
dc.contributor.authorFreedman, Tamlyn
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-26T18:24:58Z
dc.date.available2022-09-26T18:24:58Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractDementia is a progressive disease associated with irreversible impairment and loss of cognitive abilities. About half of older people with dementia experience pain. In this paper, we propose that pain in older people with dementia can be conceptualized as the final result of the interaction of three heterogeneous phenomena, pain, aging, and dementia, which are created and influenced by the interactions of predisposing, lifelong, and current biopsychosocial factors. We review pain assessment in people with dementia using both self-report and observational/behavioral measures. We then review the biological/sensory, psychological (cognitive and affective) and social dimensions of pain in dementia. The available data suggest that dementia does not impact pain threshold or tolerance. To date, there is little research on the social dimension of pain in dementia. Changes in the affective domain in response to experimental pain have been contradictory with evidence supporting both increased and decreased unpleasantness and emotional responsiveness in people with dementia compared to healthy controls. Clinically, depression is a significant burden for older people with dementia and chronic pain. The relationship between pain and other neuropsychiatric symptoms is controversial, and there is insufficient evidence on which to base conclusions. Some of the most important dementia-related changes may arise in the cognitive domain, including impairments of semantic and episodic memory for pain, executive function, and pain anticipation. Changes in brain activation and interconnectivity support many of these conclusions. Despite methodological limitations, we conclude there are compelling preliminary data to support a biopsychosocial framework of pain and dementia. Future research directions, especially the need for improved assessment tools, are highlighted.
dc.description.sponsorshipWe thank the members of the Cancer Pain Research Unit Writing Seminar for thoughtful discussion of earlier drafts of this manuscript.
dc.identifier.citationProgress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 87(B):207-215en_US
dc.identifier.citationGagliese, Gauthier, L. R., Narain, N., & Freedman, T. (2018). Pain, aging and dementia: Towards a biopsychosocial model. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 87(Pt B), 207–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.09.022
dc.identifier.issn0278-5846
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/39727
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.09.022
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherProgress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry
dc.rights© 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectPain
dc.subjectAging
dc.subjectDementia
dc.subjectBiopsychosocial model
dc.titlePain, aging and dementia: Towards a biopsychosocial modelen_US
dc.typeArticle
dcterms.licenseCC BY-NC-ND

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