Relationship Between Neuropathic Pain and Geriatric Assessment Parameters in Patients Aged 80 Years and Older

Evaluation of the Relationship Between Neuropathic Pain and Geriatric Assessment Parameters in Patients Aged 80 Years and Older

This study aimed to determine the frequency of neuropathic pain in individuals aged 80 years and older and to evaluate the relationship between neuropathic pain and comprehensive geriatric assessment parameters.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Pain; Neuropathic Pain; Old Age; Debility
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Detailed geriatric assessment

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 450

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Alper Mengi, MD; Phone Number: +90 537 651 03 85; Email: dralpmengi@gmail.com

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Edirne, Turkey (Türkiye), 22030
    • Recruiting
    • Sultan 1. Murat State Hospital
    • Contact: Alper Mengi; Phone Number: +90 5537 651 03 85; Email: dralpmengi@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients aged 80 and over who are followed up from the healthy aging outpatient clinic of Edirne Sultan 1. Murat State Hospital geriatric clinic will be included in the study

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 80 years or older
• Full cooperation
• Complete comprehensive geriatric assessment parameters

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with dementia classified as CDR-2 or CDR-3 according to the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale
• Patients who have experienced an acute illness within the last 1 month (e.g., infection, fracture, or cerebrovascular disease)
• Patients with a psychotic disorder
• Patients with severe hearing loss
• Patients with a history of malignancy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
patients without neuropathic pain; Patients with a total score of 4 or higher according to the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4)	Other: Detailed geriatric assessment; The patients' demographic characteristics, comorbid diseases, and laboratory parameters routinely requested from each patient within the last 3 months, including TSH, vitamin D, vitamin B12, HbA1c, hemoglobin, folic acid, and GFR levels, will be recorded. During the outpatient clinic visit, the presence of neuropathic pain will be assessed using the Douleur Neuropathique-4 (DN4) questionnaire. Pain intensity will be evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the average pain severity over the last week will be recorded. The use of medications that may affect pain severity and that have been used regularly by the patients for the last 3 months will also be assessed (antiepileptics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol, and antidepressants). The patients will undergo mood assessment, evaluation of basic and instrumental activities of daily living, neurocognitive assessment, frailty assessment, and nutritional assessment.
Patients without neuropathic pain; Patients with a total DN4 score below 4	Other: Detailed geriatric assessment; The patients' demographic characteristics, comorbid diseases, and laboratory parameters routinely requested from each patient within the last 3 months, including TSH, vitamin D, vitamin B12, HbA1c, hemoglobin, folic acid, and GFR levels, will be recorded. During the outpatient clinic visit, the presence of neuropathic pain will be assessed using the Douleur Neuropathique-4 (DN4) questionnaire. Pain intensity will be evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the average pain severity over the last week will be recorded. The use of medications that may affect pain severity and that have been used regularly by the patients for the last 3 months will also be assessed (antiepileptics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol, and antidepressants). The patients will undergo mood assessment, evaluation of basic and instrumental activities of daily living, neurocognitive assessment, frailty assessment, and nutritional assessment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Presence of neuropathic pain	The presence of neuropathic pain will be assessed using the Douleur Neuropathique-4 (DN4) questionnaire. The DN4 consists of 10 items. The first 7 items evaluate the characteristics and sensory quality of pain, whereas the remaining 3 items are based on physical examination findings. A total score of 4 or higher is defined as the presence of neuropathic pain, while a score below 4 is defined as the absence of neuropathic pain.	Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Neurocognitive assessment	Neurocognitive assessment will be done with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). MMSE test is a short screening test with 11 questions and 30 points. MMSE is completed in approximately 10 minutes and evaluates orientation, memory, attention, calculation, recall, language, motor function and perception, visual-spatial abilities. 24-30 points is normal, 18-23 points is mild dementia, 17 and below is compatible with severe dementia.	Baseline
Daily living activities	The assessment of daily living activities will be assessed with the Lawton-Brody Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADLS). IADLS consists of 8 questions that include information on using the telephone, preparing meals, shopping, doing daily housework, doing laundry, being able to get on a vehicle, being able to use medications, and managing money. 0-8 points are evaluated as "dependent," 9-16 points as "semi-dependent," and 17-24 points as "independent."	Baseline
Nutritional assessment	Nutritional assessment will be evaluated with the Mini Nutritional Assessment questionnaire-short form (MNA-SF). MNA-SF consists of 5 subheadings; those with 12-14 points are considered "no risk of malnutrition", those with 8-11 points are considered "at risk of malnutrition" and those with 0-7 points are considered "malnourished".	Baseline
Frailty	Frailty will be assessed using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). CFS is graded from 1 to 9. The higher the score, the greater the frailty.	Baseline
Activities of daily living	The assessment of daily living activities will be assessed with the the Barthel Index (BI) scale. BI consists of 10 questions that evaluate feeding, washing, self-care, dressing, defecation control, urinary control, going to the toilet, the ability to get from bed to a wheelchair, mobility status such as walking or being wheelchair dependent, and climbing stairs. 0-20 points are considered as completely dependent, 21-61 points as severely dependent, 62-90 points as moderately dependent, 91-99 points as slightly dependent, and 100 points as completely independent.	Baseline
Pain intensity	Patients' pain intensity will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). In the VAS assessment, a 10-cm horizontal straight line will be used, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates unbearable pain. Using the VAS, the average pain intensity during the last week will be recorded.	Baseline
Mood status	Mood status will be assessed using the short form of the Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale. The short form consists of 15 questions to which patients respond with "yes" or "no." Scoring is based on the number of depressive responses, and the total score is used to determine the level of depression. Scores of 0-9 are considered "normal," scores of 10-19 indicate "mild depression," and scores of 20-30 indicate "severe depression.	Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Sultan 1. Murat State Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kübra Altunkalem Seydi, MD, Sultan 1. Murat State Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 17, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 17, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): March 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 23, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 17, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Neuromuscular Diseases; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Frailty; Pain; Neuralgia
• Other Study ID Numbers: 29/12/2025-Number:13/33

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: If requested, the data of the study will be shared by the researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No