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Adrenergic neurotransmission is involved in pain pathways, and several animal and human studies suggest that β-blockers have antinociceptive effects. Given these observations, U.K. researchers examined associations between β-blocker use and pain in a cohort of 873 patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis and hypertension; 40% of these patients were taking β-blockers.
On a standardized scale, β-blocker users were significantly less likely than nonusers to have at least moderate joint pain (34% vs. 42%). In analyses adjusted for various demographic and clinical characteristics, at least moderate joint pain remained significantly less likely among β-blocker users (odds ratio, 0.68). β-blocker users also were significantly less likely than nonus…