The relationship between pain and falls remains controversial. Therefore, this study explored the associations between pain and fall-related outcomes in 5,340 middle-aged (45–65 years) adults residing in the communities in Korea. Pain was defined as pain at any location, pain-related activity restriction (PAR), and persistent pain. The outcome measures included fall injuries, recurrent falls, injurious falls, and fall-related hip fractures. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to examine the relationship between pain and fall outcome. Among the study participants, 54.0% reported having experienced pain. During a follow-up period of up to 14 years, those who reported pain and PAR at baseline exhibited a positive association with the occurrence of fall injury (odds ratio [OR] 1.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27–2.53) and injurious falls (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.20–2.48) but not with recurrent falls (OR 1.90, 95% CI 0.80–4.54). We also observed a positive association between persistent pain and the risk of fall injury (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.13–1.91), whereas no consistent conclusions were drawn regarding the risk of recurrent falls and injurious falls. We also did not identify any correlation between pain and hip fractures resulting from falls. In conclusion, our findings of the positive correlations of pain and PAR at baseline with fall injuries and injurious falls but not recurrent falls during follow-up suggest that public health initiatives should prioritize pain screening, especially for participants reporting ankle and toe pain, and implement suitable interventions to mitigate the risk of falls and the associated adverse outcomes among middle-aged adults.

中文翻译：

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韩国社区中年成年人疼痛与跌倒和骨折的关联


疼痛和跌倒之间的关系仍然存在争议。因此，本研究对居住在韩国社区的 5,340 名中年（45-65 岁）成年人探讨了疼痛与跌倒相关结果之间的关联。疼痛被定义为任何部位的疼痛、疼痛相关的活动限制（PAR）和持续性疼痛。结果指标包括跌倒受伤、反复跌倒、伤害性跌倒和跌倒相关的髋部骨折。使用多变量逻辑回归模型来检查疼痛和跌倒结果之间的关系。在研究参与者中，54.0% 的人表示经历过疼痛。在长达 14 年的随访期间，那些在基线时报告疼痛和 PAR 的患者与跌倒损伤的发生呈正相关（比值比 [OR] 1.79，95% 置信区间 [CI] 1.27–2.53），并且伤害性跌倒（OR 1.72，95% CI 1.20–2.48），但不包括反复跌倒（OR 1.90，95% CI 0.80–4.54）。我们还观察到持续性疼痛与跌倒受伤风险之间存在正相关（OR 1.41，95% CI 1.13-1.91），但对于反复跌倒和伤害性跌倒的风险没有得出一致的结论。我们也没有发现疼痛与跌倒引起的髋部骨折之间存在任何相关性。总之，我们发现基线时疼痛和 PAR 与跌倒损伤和伤害性跌倒呈正相关，但与随访期间反复跌倒无关，这表明公共卫生举措应优先考虑疼痛筛查，特别是对于报告脚踝和脚趾疼痛的参与者，并实施采取适当的干预措施，以减轻中年成年人跌倒的风险和相关的不良后果。