Study links chronic pain risk to prolonged extreme temperatures for older adults

A two-decade longitudinal study of over 35,000 Americans aged 50 and older examined how chronic pain interacts with prolonged extreme weather. By aligning each participant’s pain history with neighborhood temperature extremes, researchers found that frequent cold spells increased high-impact pain, whereas occasional cold did not. Heat exposure showed a similar pattern only in rural communities and among the poorest seniors, while urban and wealthier older adults were largely unaffected, probably because of superior air-conditioning and healthcare access.

The authors argue that public-health alerts should add chronic pain to the list of heat-related risks and that cooling assistance must be tailored to rural needs. They also recommend clinicians record patients’ housing and climate context alongside medical data. With climate change lengthening heat waves—such as Phoenix’s 2024 stretch of 39 nights above 90 °F—addressing pain could help preserve independence for many older Americans.