Musculoskeletal Pain Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Telesurvey

Purpose: To describe the musculoskeletal (MSK) pain prevalence and incidence and identify factors associated with MSK pain among older adults over a 1-year follow-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This longitudinal telesurvey recruited community-dwelling older adults (≤65 years) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. MSK pain prevalence and incidence were calculated. Multilevel negative binomial and ordered logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with the number of pain sites (0 to 7 pain sites), and most intense pain (no, mild, moderate, and severe pain). Results: We included 247 participants. Pain prevalence ranged from 64% at baseline to 73% at 1 year. Being older (IRR [incidence rate ratio]: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.94 to 0.98) and having better mobility (IRR: 0.96; 0.95 to 0.96) were associated with fewer number of pain sites. Being male (OR 0.87; 0.82 to 0.93) was associated with a lower pain intensity. While having a greater BMI (OR 1.07; 1.00 to 1.14), being older at 12 months (OR 1.09; 1.01 to 1.18), having better mobility at 12 months (OR 1.06; 1.01 to 1.11), and better mental health at 9 (OR 5.32; 1.25 to 22.64) and 12 months (OR 7.19; 1.71 to 30.18) were associated with a higher pain intensity. Conclusions: Older adults had high MSK pain prevalence during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, there was not a significant increase over time. Our results demonstrated that better mobility, being older, greater BMI, being female, and having better mental health are important factors associated with MSK pain in older adults in the COVID-19 scenario.