Brain predicted age difference mediates pain impact on physical performance in community dwelling middle to older aged adults.
Jessica A Peterson, Alisa Johnson, Chavier Laffitte Nordarse and 4 others
PMID 36787663WHAT IT FOUND
In adults with knee pain, higher pain impact was linked to lower balance, sit-to-stand, walking, and overall physical performance.
Estimated brain age was also linked to walking and total performance.
Key findings
01People with high impact knee pain had lower total physical performance than those with low impact pain or pain-free controls (9.127 vs 10.116 vs 10.757 on a 0 to 12 scale).
02Estimated brain age difference was associated with poorer walking and total physical performance, and mediation analyses suggested it partly explained relationships between pain impact and those scores.
03Greater pain-related disability was associated with an older estimated brain age difference.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that brain aging causes pain-related physical limitation or that pain causes brain aging. Participants were excluded for many common conditions, including uncontrolled hypertension, neurological disease, systemic rheumatic disorders, daily opioid use, and serious psychiatric illness, so results may not apply to a typical clinic population. The findings are limited to knee pain and may not generalize to other pain conditions. The clinical significance of estimated brain age was not established; the authors call for longitudinal studies before using it to predict outcomes. The sample was 65.5% female and 55.4% non-Hispanic White, with a mean age of 58.04 years, so applicability to other groups is limited.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The article metadata lists NIH extramural and U.S. government non-PHS support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the mediation finding as proof that brain aging causes disability or that brain age testing should guide care. The study is cross-sectional, and the authors say longitudinal work is needed to establish clinical significance.