Physical and psychosocial health in older women with chronic pain: comparing clusters of clinical and nonclinical samples.

Background: This investigation examined why some elderly women with severe pain symptoms and impairment in health status were not seen in a tertiary care pain center.

Methods: Three groups of older (> or = 60 years) women were included in the study: women seeking chronic pain treatment at a multidisciplinary pain center (N = 49), and research volunteers from the same institution with (N = 28) and without (N = 27) chronic pain. A clustering classification technique was used to identify clusters of older women with similar physical and mental health status.

Consistent and breakthrough pain in diverse advanced cancer patients: a longitudinal examination.

Although cancer pain, both consistent and breakthrough pain ([BTP]; pain flares interrupting well-controlled baseline pain), is common among cancer patients, its prevalence, characteristics, etiology, and impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are poorly understood. This longitudinal study examined the experience and treatment of cancer-related pain over six months, including an evaluation of ethnic differences. Patients with Stage III or IV breast, prostate, colorectal, or lung cancer, or Stage II-IV multiple myeloma with BTP completed surveys on initial assessment and at three and six months.