Chronic Pain in "Probable" Vascular Dementia: Preliminary Findings

Background: In a previous study, the levels of pain reported by patients with "possible" vascular dementia (VaD) were higher than those reported by older individuals without dementia. Objective: To examine experienced pain in patients with "probable" VaD, confirmed by brain imaging. Study Design: Observational, cross sectional. Setting: Nursing home. Methods: The participants were 20 nursing home residents (14 females, 6 males) who met the NINDS-AIREN criteria for "probable" VaD and 22 nursing home residents with a normal mental status (18 females, 4 males). The patients were in a mild to moderate stage of dementia. All of the participants were suffering from arthritis/arthrosis or osteoporosis. Global cognitive functioning was measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination. Pain was assessed by the Coloured Analogue Scale (CAS: original and modified version) and the Faces Pain Scale. The Geriatric Depression Scale and the Symptom Checklist-90 were used to assess mood. Results: The main finding was that, after controlling for mood, the pain levels indicated by patients with "probable" VaD (M=102.32; standard deviation [SD]=53.42) were significantly higher than those indicated by the control group (M=59.17; SD=38.75), only according to the CAS modified version (F[1,29])=5.62, P=0.01, η