Inverse Association Between Neck Pain and All-Cause Mortality in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Objective - In a previous study, we found an apparent protective effect of neck pain on all-cause mortality in subjects over 85 years of age. The present longitudinal investigation was performed to verify this unexpected finding in a larger sample, and to establish its significance. Design – Population follow-up study. Setting – Three towns of Northern Italy. Subjects – We examined 5253 community dwelling residents aged 65-102 years, 55% female. Methods - Through postal questionnaire baseline information was obtained concerning cardiovascular risk factors, self-rated health, physical activity, cardiovascular events, medical therapy and presence of pain in the main joints. The 7-year all-cause mortality was the end-point. Results - During follow-up 1250 people died. After adjustment for age, sex, anti-inflammatory drugs, physical activity and main risk factors, neck pain was inversely associated with mortality (hazard ratio 0.74; 95% confidence interval 0.64-0.86; P