Biomedical subjects

Juha H O Turunen

Publications and source records attributed to Juha H O Turunen.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Frequent analgesic use at population level: prevalence and patterns of use.

Statistics and prescription database studies show that analgesics are widely utilized, but do not tell anything about either the factors behind analgesic use or how over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics are being used. We aimed to study the prevalence of frequent use of prescribed and OTC analgesics. We also investigated the background factors related to frequent analgesic use and assessed rationality of analgesic usage patterns. We addressed a postal survey to a random stratified population sample of 6500 Finnish people aged 15-74 years. The response rate was 71% (n=4542) after exclusion of unobtainable addressees (n=68). Individuals reporting analgesic use 'daily' or 'a few times a week' were categorized as frequent users. After adjusting for age and sex, the overall prevalence of daily analgesic use was 8.5%, and the prevalence of analgesic use a few times a week 13.6%. The adjusted prevalence of using exclusively prescribed analgesics daily or a few times a week was 8.7%, and that of utilizing purely OTC analgesics 8.8%. The overall prevalence of concomitant frequent use of both prescribed and OTC analgesics was 4.6%. Multinominal logistic regression analyses showed that frequent analgesic use was related especially to daily or continuous pain and high pain intensity. Low mood and not being employed also increased the probability for daily analgesic use. Frequent analgesic use seems to be common at population level. Concomitant use of both prescribed and OTC analgesics can be considered irrational, as it increases the risk of adverse events.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

How do people ease their pain? A population-based study.

UNLABELLED: We investigated how a general population treat their pain and determined factors affecting use of different pain management strategies. From the respondents of a cross-sectional postal survey we selected those who had experienced pain during the past 7 days (n = 3641) and analyzed how they had tried to manage their pain during the past 6 months. The most common pain management strategies were use of over-the-counter medicines (53% of 3641 respondents), physical exercise (52%), prescription medicines (35%), and visiting a physician (33%). The location of pain was related to which pain management strategy was chosen. Use of multiple (>4) treatments was related to prolonged pain, having several (>3) painful locations, high intensity and frequency of pain. PERSPECTIVE: This study indicates that people with pain are active in trying different treatments. Self-care strategies, especially over-the-counter medicines and physical exercise, are common ways to manage pain at the population level.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Chronic pain and poor self-rated health.

CONTEXT: Chronic pain is common in Western societies. Self-rated health is an important indicator of morbidity and mortality, but little is known about the relation between chronic pain and self-rated health in the general population. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between chronic pain and self-rated health. DESIGN, SETTING, AND POPULATION: A questionnaire survey carried out during the spring of 2002 of an age- and sex-stratified population sample of 6500 individuals in Finland aged 15 to 74 years, with a response rate of 71% (N = 4542) after exclusion of those with unobtainable data (n = 38). Chronic pain was defined as pain with a duration of at least 3 months and was graded by frequency: (1) at most once a week; (2) several times a week; and (3) daily or continuously. On the basis of a 5-item questionnaire on self-rated health, individuals were classified as having good, moderate, or poor health. Multinominal logistic regression analysis was used to assess the determinants of health. Analysis included sex, age, education, working status, chronic diseases, and mood. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceived chronic pain graded by frequency and self-rated health status. RESULTS: The prevalence of any chronic pain was 35.1%; that of daily chronic pain, 14.3%. The prevalence of moderate self-rated health was 26.6% and of poor health, 7.6%. For moderate self-rated health among individuals having chronic pain at most once a week compared with individuals having no chronic pain, the adjusted odds were 1.36 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.76); several times a week, 2.41 (95% CI, 1.94-3.00); and daily, 3.69 (95% CI, 2.97-4.59). Odds for poor self-rated health were as follows: having chronic pain at most once a week, 1.16 (95% CI, 0.65-2.07); several times a week, 2.62 (95% CI, 1.76-3.90); and daily, 11.82 (95% CI, 8.67-16.10). CONCLUSION: Chronic pain is independently related to low self-rated health in the general population.

Adolescent↗