Study of Morbid Pain and Anxiety on Behavioral Consequences in Elderly People Followed at Saint Joseph Hospital of Limete

Background: The prevalence of comorbid pain and anxiety in clinical observations is high, and the number of publications on the elderly has increased in recent years.Nevertheless, few studies have evaluated comorbid pain and anxiety in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).The aim of this study was to evaluate pain and anxiety and their behavioural consequences in elderly patients followed at Saint Joseph Hospital (SJH) of Limete.Methods: This is a descriptive study, on a sample of 141 patients, aged 65 and over, consulted or hospitalized at the SJH of Limete from August to September 2013.Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were studied.Results: The mean age of patients was 68.5 11.3 years, with a preponderance in the 65 -69 age group (41.8%); the majority of patients were female (55.3%), i.e. a sex ratio of 1:1.Nearly 42% of patients had a primary school education, 53.9% were married and 32.6% lived off their children.The majority, 78.7% were hypertensive and 51.0% suffered from severe anxiety/depression, the vast majority 95.0% had no pain-related behavioral impact and more than half 56.0% suffered from moderate pain.The main causes of pain were degenerative diseases (33.3%).Patients benefited from anti-inflammatory medication (50.4%) for their pain.Conclusion: These results show that the impairment of quality of life in the elderly is proportional to the intensity of pain.