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One quarter to one third of older adults have chronic pain, and cross-sectional studies have shown associations between chronic pain and cognitive decline. In this study, researchers used data from a national health and retirement study to explore the longitudinal relation between chronic pain and subsequent cognitive decline in about 10,000 older adults (median age, 73; mostly white women). Participants were assessed every 2 years for pain and cognitive function, and those who reported moderate-to-severe pain at baseline and at 2 years — about 11% of participants — were considered to have persistent pain; those with less or no pain served as the control group. Baseline prevalence of arthritis and depression was higher in the persistent-pai…