Distinctive subgroups derived by cluster analysis based on pain and psychological symptoms in Swedish older adults with chronic pain – a population study (PainS65+)

Table 1 Classification variables of the total sample, the clusters (subgroups) and overall comparisons among the subgroups

Variables** (Mean ± SD; otherwise stated)	Total sample	Subgroup 1*	Subgroup 2^†	Subgroup 3^‡	Subgroup 4^§	p value^a
Total number of participants (n, %)	2.294 (100.0)	325 (14.6)	516 (22.1)	686 (29.9)	767 (33.4)
Pain intensity (NRS7d), range 0–10	5.00 ± 2.0	6.5 ± 1.8	7.4 ± 1.9	4.1 ± 1.2	4.0 ± 1.5	<0.001
Number of pain sites, range 1–45	5.7 ± 5.2	6.7 ± 5.0	11.5 ± 6.9	3.8 ± 2.3	3.9 ± 2.7	<0.001
GWBS-Anxiety, range 0–25	6.3 ± 4.8	13.5 ± 3.8	6.10 ± 3.2	7.5 ± 3.3	1.9 ± 1.7	<0.001
GWBS- Depression, range 0–20	5.5 ± 3.7	10.6 ± 3.2	5.2 ± 2.6	6.8 ± 2.4	2.1 ± 1.4	<0.001
PCS, range 0–39	11.8 ± 8.6	24.1 ± 7.3	13.6 ± 7.5	10.2 ± 7.4	7.5 ± 4.9	<0.001

GWBS General Well-being Schedule, NRS7d Pain intensity as measured by a numeric rating scale for the previous 7 days, PCS Pain catastrophizing scale, *Subgroup 1 = older adults with moderate pain and high psychological symptoms; ^†Subgroup 2 = older adults with high pain and moderate psychological symptoms; ^‡Subgroup 3 = older adults with low pain and moderate psychological symptoms; ^§Subgroup 4 = older adults with low pain without psychological symptoms; ^aOne way ANOVA; SD = standard deviation. **For all classification variables high values indicate worsening health status

ISSN: 1471-2318