The Effects of Age on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Self-Rated Pain

A retrospective cohort study found that older patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) reported a decrease in levels of pain and an independence of disease severity as published in the European Journal of Dermatology.

Prior to the study, the authors had observed that there was a dissociation between pain and number of HS lesions with increasing age. To explore this further, researchers conducted the study using data from the Registry for Hidradenitis Suppurativa database. They performed a multiple linear regression analysis for self-evaluated pain outcomes with age, with adjustments for the effects of sex, body mass index, smoking status, lesion count, and the percentage of lifetime with HS symptoms. This self-evaluation measured pain on a 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS).

According to the results, pain levels were reduced by 0.31 NRS points/year with an increase in age. Additionally, nodules had an association with increased pain level at 0.081 NRS points/nodule. Researchers added that the percentage of lifetime with HS symptoms were found to have had no effect on pain levels.

The authors concluded, “This study supports our hypothesis that older HS patients report decreased levels of pain, independent of disease severity, which may be due to factors such as demyelination of nerve fibres, reduced painful physical activity, improved coping, or associated co-morbidities that distract from HS-related pain.”

Reference
Kjærsgaard Andersen R, Ml Saunte D, Jemec GB. The effect of age on self-rated skin pain in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa. Eur J Dermatol. Published online November 17, 2021. doi:10.1684/ejd.2021.4145