Pain interference, cognition, and depressive symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease

Underrecognized and untreated pain in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a public health concern1 and is associated with sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, and depressive symptoms2. As cognition worsens, people with AD may be unable to reliably report their pain3; 4. While previous studies have examined self‐reported pain intensity in persons with AD5; 6, there has been limited investigation into how this pain interferes with daily living (i.e. pain interference). Wang et al (2017) reported that cognition has a positive association with pain interference and depression7 in AD. However, the relationship of the specific aspects of pain interference with cognitive function and depression has not been explored. Here we investigate the association of specific pain interference subscores with cognitive function and depressive symptoms in verbally communicative older adults with mild to moderate AD. We hypothesized that (1) AD individuals with better cognitive function will report more pain interference in all categories; and (2) all elements of pain interference will be positively associated with depressive symptoms.