Sociodemographic patterns of pain in an urban community sample: an examination of intersectional effects of sex, race, age, and poverty status

This study aimed to examine interactions among these sociodemographic factors on self-reported bodily pain in an urban community sample to assess whether membership in multiple at-risk groups confers greater risk for pain independent of depressive symptomatology. Participants (N = 1173) were enrolled in the epidemiological Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study, and reported experiences of pain in various body sites. Logistic regression was used to examine independent and interactive relations of sociodemographic factors on the likelihood of reporting pain in one or more sites. A significant three-way interaction was found for race, sex, and poverty status (odds ratio [OR] = 6.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.26-28.97], P = 0.025). Specifically, among Whites living in poverty, women were more likely to report pain than men (P = 0.043), suggesting a double disadvantage of being both female and living in poverty. Among those above the poverty line, African American (AA) men were less likely to report pain than White men (P = 0.024) and AA women (P = 0.019), potentially due to greater stoicism or coping skills and sources of resilience. Consistent with prior research, significant main effects revealed that older age (OR = 2.16, 95% CI [1.28-3.64], P = 0.004) and higher depressive symptoms (OR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.02-1.04], P
Source: Pain - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research