Association of persistent musculoskeletal pain with dementia risk score in adults aged 45 years or older: The China health and retirement longitudinal study

Background: Recent studies have confirmed an association between pain and dementia. Whether musculoskeletal pain in the spine, upper limbs, and lower limbs is associated with dementia risk remains unclear. The longitudinal effect of musculoskeletal pain on dementia risk also remains unclear. Aims: This work aimed to investigate the association between musculoskeletal pain and dementia risk score. Methods: We conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Participants aged 45 years or older were recruited in 2011. A total of 10,759 participants with complete pain information at baseline were eligible for the cross-sectional analysis, and 5,855 were eligible for the longitudinal analyses. We utilized the Rotterdam Study Basic Dementia Risk Model (BDRM) to assess dementia risk. Generalized estimating equations were used to investigate the associations. Results: Compared with participants without persistent musculoskeletal pain, those with persistent musculoskeletal pain (standardized, β = 0.83; 95 % CI: 0.06, 1.61, p = 0.036), multisite pain (sites≧5; β = 1.52; 95 % CI: 0.13, 2.91, p = 0.032), neck pain (β = 2.33; 95 % CI: 0.41, 4.25, p = 0.018), back pain (β = 2.12; 95 % CI: 0.43, 3.82, p = 0.014), waist pain (β = 1.09; 95 % CI: 0.07, 2.11, p = 0.037), shoulder pain (β = 1.74; 95 % CI: 0.46, 3.02, p = 0.008), wrist pain (β = 2.72; 95 % CI: 0.42, 5.02, p = 0.021), and knee pain (β = 1.91; 95 % CI: 0.70, 3.13, p = 0.002) had a higher BDRM score during 4 years of follow-up. Conclusions: Promoting the management of musculoskeletal pain may be beneficial in reducing the dementia risk score.