Chronic pain can be defined as the pain that persists for three months or longer and can cause prolonged physical sufferings. Moderate to severe chronic pain affects 1 in 5 adults. The mortality risk may increase with pain, but the exact relationship between chronic pain and mortality is not clear.

The present study aimed to find out whether mortality risk was influenced by pain phenotype, distinguished by pain extent or pain influence on daily life.

The patients for inclusion in the study were taken from two large population cohorts with adults ≥50 years of age, English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) (n=6324) and the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (NorStOP) (n=10985). The risk of mortality in patients was calculated using survival analyses (Cox's proportional hazard models). The variables included- reporting "any pain" and then separately according to the extent of pain (total number of pain sites; widespread pain according to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria; widespread pain according to Manchester criteria) and pain impact on daily life (pain interference; and often troubled with pain). Models were balanced for age, sex, education and wealth/adequacy of income.

No significant association between increased risk of mortality and the report of any pain or having widespread pain or Manchester was found in the study. Participants often troubled with pain and those that reported: "quite a bit", and "extreme" pain interference or hindrance had an increased risk of all-cause mortality.