Dataset Information

Racial-ethnic Disparities in Pain Intensity and Interference Among Middle-aged and Older U.S. Adults.

ABSTRACT:

Background

This study aims to better understand differing pain experiences across U.S. racial/ethnic subgroups by estimating racial-ethnic disparities in both pain intensity and domain-specific pain-related interference. To address this issue, we use a nationally representative sample of non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic adults ages 50+ who report recently experiencing pain.

Methods

Using data from the 2010 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 684), we conducted a series of multivariate analyses to assess possible racial/ethnic disparities in pain intensity and 7 domains of pain interference, controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables and other health problems.

Results

Black and Hispanic participants reported higher pain intensity than White participants after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES) and other health conditions. Both Black and Hispanic individuals reported more domain-specific pain interference in bivariate analyses. In multivariate analyses, Black (vs White) participants reported significantly higher levels of pain interference with family-home responsibilities, occupation, sexual behavior, and daily self-care. We did not find significant Hispanic-White differences in the 7 pain interference domains, nor did we find Black-White differences in 3 domains (recreation, social activities, and essential activities).

Conclusions

Our findings highlight the need for using multidimensional measures of pain when assessing for possible pain disparities with respect to race/ethnicity. Future studies on pain interventions should consider contextualizing the pain experience across different racial subgroups to help pain patients with diverse needs, with the ultimate goal of reducing racial/ethnic disparities in pain.

SUBMITTER: Yang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8824568 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background/objectivesTo determine racial/ethnic disparities in weekly counts of new COVID-19 cases and deaths among nursing home residents or staff.DesignCross-sectional analysis of national nursing home COVID-19 reports linked to other data. Multivariable two-part models modeled disparities in count of cases or deaths, and logistic regressions modeled disparities in self-reported shortages in staff and personal protective equipment (PPE), across nursing home groups with varying proportions of racial/ethnic minority residents, defined as low-, medium-, medium-high-, and high-proportion groups.SettingA total of 12,576 nursing homes nationally.ParticipantsNone.InterventionNone.MeasurementsNumbers of incident COVID-19 confirmed cases among residents and staff, and incident COVID-19 related deaths among residents (primary outcomes); and nursing home reported shortages in staff and PPE (secondary outcomes). All outcomes were reported for the week of May 25, 2020.ResultsThe number of weekly new COVID-19 confirmed cases among residents ranged from an average of 0.4 cases per facility (standard deviation (SD) = 2.5) for the low-proportion group (93.0% had zero new cases) to 1.5 cases per facility (SD = 6.3) for the high-proportion group (78.9% had zero new cases). Multivariable regression estimated that compared with the low-proportion group, the likelihood of having at least one new resident case was 76% higher (odds ratio = 1.76; 95% confidence interval = 1.38-2.25; P = .000) for the high-proportion group. Similar across-facility disparities were found for the weekly count of new COVID-19 deaths among residents (ranging from 0.1 deaths per facility (SD = 1.1) for the low-proportion group to 0.4 deaths (SD = 2.0) for the high-proportion group) and in the weekly count of new COVID-19 confirmed cases among staff (ranging from 0.3 cases (SD = 1.4] to 1.3 cases (SD = 4.4) per facility). No substantial disparities in self-reported shortages of staff or PPE were found.ConclusionNursing homes caring for disproportionately more racial/ethnic minority residents reported more weekly new COVID-19 confirmed cases and/or deaths. Immediate actions are needed to address these system-level disparities.