Pain is one of the main reasons for seeking health services, and its prevalence is higher among adults and older people. In addition to generating high health costs, the presence of pain leads to a decrease in these individuals' quality of life and functionality. Understanding the factors associated with pain during aging is essential for effective prevention and treatment. Studies that explore these associations among older people are still scarce and need a sample size representative of the Brazilian population.

Analyze the association between pain, psychobehavioral, and lifestyle factors in middle-aged adults (+50) and elderly Brazilians.

This cross-sectional study was based on information from the second phase of the Longitudinal Study of Brazilian Aging (ELSI-Brasil), conducted from 2019 to 2021. Brazilian individuals aged 50 years or older were included and completed a questionnaire about their physical and mental health and social status. The question "Do you have pain that often bothers you?" (Yes/No) was used to assess pain status. Association analysis between pain, psychobehavioral (feeling nervous or irritated, depressed, sad, happy, and having a confirmed diagnosis of depression or any other psychiatric diagnosis), and lifestyle (smoking, drinking, and regular physical activity) were conducted.

A total of 9875 participants completed the questionnaire. Participants ranged from 50 to 109 years, 5855 were female, and 328 (64%) participants reported no pain. Pain was associated with the female sex (p < 0.01), sedentary lifestyle or irregular practice of physical activity (p < 0.01), feeling nervous or irritated (p < 0.01), feeling depressed (p < 0.01), feeling sad (p < 0.01) or not feeling happy (p < 0.01), having a diagnosis of depression (p < 0.01) or some other psychiatric problem (p < 0.01), alcoholism (p < 0.01), 01) and smoking (p < 0.01). Participants' age was not associated with pain (p=0.59), not even when analyzed by age group (p=0.17).

Psychobehavioral factors are strongly associated with the population aging process of Brazilians, as well as alcoholism and smoking. The same does not occur for age and age group of this population.

The results show a significant association of psychobehavioral factors with pain in older Brazilian adults. These data contribute to preventing and treating future health problems in this population, given that we now know the factors associated with this phenomenon.