Introduction:

The influence of pain on Quality of Life may vary depending on several reasons, biological as well as social, psychological or even existential. Thus, to better understand individuals who suffer from pain, psychosocial and quality of life aspects should be taken into account. Consequently, the aim of this study was look for patterns of biological/psychological and social factors that alter the relationship between pain and Quality of life.

Method:

The sample includes 1402 individuals aged 60 – 96 years out of whom 769 (55%) reported suffering from pain. This sample of older adults is being followed over time. Data were collected from physical examinations, patient records and a questionnaire. Age, gender, if living alone, KASAM, insomnia and pain were included as independent variables. The outcome variable, Quality of life, was estimated using the HRQL Medical Outcome Study-Short Form (SF 12).

Results:

All independent variables were related to Quality of Life in expected directions. Logistic regression analyses, showed that, multivariately, four factors influenced the quality of life among elders. Suffering from pain (OR1.66), insomnia (OR 1.70), KASAM (OR 1.08) and age (OR 1.05) increased the odds of experienced low Quality of Life.

Conclusion:

The results clearly show that insomnia means high odds for a low quality of life. The next most influential factor leading to low quality of life is pain. Significantly but with low OR, also age and KASAM increase the risk of having a low Quality of Life.  Thus, when understanding the relationship between pain and Quality of Life, sleeping problems and older age need to be considered.