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Pain in Older Adults

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Pain Medicine

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Abstract

Chronic persistent pain is a prevalent syndrome in older adults (age ≥65 years), affecting as many as 50 % of community-dwelling elders and 80 % of those residing in nursing facilities [1]. Population studies demonstrate that this age group is growing faster than any other demographic, having doubled within the past 50 years and expected to double again over the next 50. Given the significant prevalence of pain in such a rapidly expanding demographic, pain practitioners should anticipate an increasing demand for their services in the multidisciplinary care of older adults in the decades to come [2].

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Additional Reading

  • American Geriatrics Society Panel on Persistent Pain in Older Persons. Pharmacological management of persistent pain in older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009;57:1331–46.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    J. Tasker Gundy MD

Authors
  1. J. Tasker Gundy MD
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Correspondence to J. Tasker Gundy MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    R. Jason Yong

  2. Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Michael Nguyen

  3. Department of Anesthesiology Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Ehren Nelson

  4. Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Health Care Center at Chestnut Hill, Center for Perioperative Research, Sedation for Interventional Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard D. Urman

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Gundy, J.T. (2017). Pain in Older Adults. In: Yong, R., Nguyen, M., Nelson, E., Urman, R. (eds) Pain Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43133-8_149

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43133-8_149

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-43131-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-43133-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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