Pain symptoms and physical performance in older adults: cross-sectional findings from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS)

Key summary points Aim To analyze the associations between pain and physical performance in different aging contexts. Findings Lower limbs Pain or Back Pain were associated with poor physical performance in older people. Message Pain symptoms are associated with reduced physical performance in older people, even with interference from clinical and sociodemographic factors. Purpose To analyze the associations between pain and physical performance in different aging contexts. Methods Data from 1725 older adults from Canada, Brazil, Colombia, and Albania from the 2014 wave of the IMIAS were used to assess the associations between Back Pain (BP) or Lower Limb Pain (LLP) and physical performance by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Three binary logistic regression models adjusted for sex, age, study site, education, income sufficiency, BMI, depressive symptoms, and chronic conditions were used to estimate the associations between LLP or BP and SPPB. The SPPB was classified into good performance (8 points or more) and poor physical performance (