Forty young (mean age, 24.1 years) and 61 elderly (mean age, 72.3 years) subjects were investigated for their facial (Facial Action Coding System) and subjective responses to noxious mechanical and electrical stimuli of various intensities.
Young and elderly subjects did not differ with respect to the frequency of facial responses during noxious mechanical and electrical stimulations. Moreover, age had no significant impact on the pain specificity of these facial responses. Furthermore, we found no significant age differences in self-report ratings of pressure and electrical pain, thus indicating that both age groups experienced comparable amounts of pain intensities.
These findings suggest that the facial expression of pain, like facial expressions of other affective states, remains unchanged in older persons. Consequently, elderly individuals seem to communicate pain through their facial expression as validly as younger individuals do.