Pain and symptoms of depression in older adults living in community and in nursing homes: the role of activity restriction as a potential mediator and moderator.

Background: Chronic pain is likely to lead to depressive symptoms, but the nature of this relationship is not completely clear. The aim of the present study is to analyze the role of activity restriction in the pain-depression relationship in older people, and to test the hypothesis that this role is more relevant in community-dwelling older people than in nursing home residents.

Method: Depressive symptoms, pain intensity, and activity restriction were measured in a sample of 208 older adults with osteoarthritis, 102 living in nursing homes (NH), and 106 in the community.