BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Chronic pain is one of the most important problems considerably impairing autonomy of the elderly to perform their daily functions, highly impairing their quality of life (QL). This study aimed at evaluating the influence of chronic pain on the QL of the elderly, using the pain visual analog scale (VAS) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-bref) questionnaire, observing its repercussions on four domains: physical, psychological, social relations and environment. METHOD: This was a transversal, descriptive, exploratory study with a convenience sample of 50 elderly people with clinical diagnosis of chronic pain, aged 60 years or above. Evaluation tools were the WHOQOL-bref questionnaire and the pain VAS. RESULTS: We identified 34% with spinal disorders; 22% with rheumatoid arthritis, 18% with osteoporosis, 14% with arthritis and 12% with tendon injuries. Pain was moderate according to the VAS. There has been a negative influence of chronic pain on the QL of the elderly in the physical domain and in social relations as compared to control voluntary people. CONCLUSION: This study has shown the presence of moderate pain evaluated by the one-dimension scale, with negative influence on the QL of the elderly, and health professionals should be always attentive and should use evaluation methods which may identify the magnitude of pain, since very often the elderly do not know how to adequately explain their pain, to be able to offer the elderly all needed health support.
Chronic; Elderly; Pain; Quality of life