Pain sensitivity and analgesic use among 10,486 adults: the Tromsø study

Table 3 Baseline pain sensitivity and the risk of future persistent analgesic use within the 4.5 years of follow-up (n = 9,657). Prospective analysis

	Crude	n = 9,657	Model A	n = 9,559	Model B	n = 9,548
	HR	95% CI	HR	95% CI	HR	95% CI
Withdrew hand^a	1.22	1.06–1.40	1.13	0.97–1.30	1.09	0.94–1.26
Did not withdraw hand	1	Ref	1	Ref	1	Ref

HR hazard ratio, CI confidence interval
Model A: Adjusted for age, sex and education
Model B: Same as A but including chronic pain
Persistent analgesic use: Use of NSAIDs, paracetamol or opioids for ≥ 90 days and with a proportion-of-days-covered ≥ 40%. In the study period, the persistent treatment episodes consisted on average of 39.3% NSAID, 44.0% opioid and 16.7% paracetamol prescriptions
^aThis group withdrew their hand in the cold pressor test. The reference group consists of those who endured the entire test of 106 s. Those who withdrew their hand are assumed less cold pain tolerant, i.e., more pain sensitive

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