Citation

Stratton KJ, Clark SL, Hawn SE, Amstadter AB, Cifu DX, Walker WC. J. Pain 2014; 15(10): 1023-1032.

Affiliation

Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jpain.2014.07.002

PMID

25038401

Abstract

Military personnel returning from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan often endorse pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, either separately or concurrently. Associations between pain and PTSD may be further complicated by blast exposure from explosive munitions. Although many studies have reported on the prevalence and disability associated with polytraumatic injuries following combat, less is known about symptom maintenance over time. Accordingly, this study examined longitudinal interactive models of co-occurring pain and PTSD symptoms in a sample of 209 military personnel (Mage = 27.4 years, SD = 7.6) who experienced combat-related blast exposure. Autoregressive cross-lagged analysis examined longitudinal associations between self-reported pain and PTSD symptoms over a one-year period. The best-fitting model indicated that pain and PTSD were significantly associated with one another across all assessment periods, χ(2)(3) = 3.66, p =.30; TLI =.98; CFI =.99; RMSEA =.03, and PTSD had a particularly strong influence on subsequent pain symptoms. The relationship between pain and PTSD is related to older age, race, and traumatic brain injury characteristics.

RESULTS further the understanding of complex injuries among military personnel and highlight the need for comprehensive assessment and rehabilitation efforts addressing the interdependence of pain and co-occurring mental health conditions.

Language: en