TY - JOUR PY - 2015// TI - Risk factors for prolonged treatment of whiplash-associated disorders JO - PLoS one A1 - Oka, Hiroyuki A1 - Matsudaira, Ko A1 - Fujii, Tomoko A1 - Okazaki, Hiroshi A1 - Shinkai, Yukari A1 - Tsuji, Yutaka A1 - Tanaka, Sakae A1 - Kato, Ryuichi SP - e0132191 EP - e0132191 VL - 10 IS - 7 N2 - OBJECTIVES: Whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) are the most common injuries that are associated with car collisions in Japan and many Western countries. However, there is no clear evidence regarding the potential risk factors for poor recovery from WAD. Therefore, we used an online survey of the Japanese population to examine the association between potential risk factors and the persistence of symptoms in individuals with WAD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online survey was completed by 127,956 participants, including 4,164 participants who had been involved in a traffic collision. A random sample of the collision participants (n = 1,698) were provided with a secondary questionnaire. From among the 974 (57.4%) respondents to the secondary questionnaire, we selected 183 cases (intractable neck pain that was treated over a period of 6 months) and 333 controls (minor neck pain that was treated within 3 months). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the potential risk factors for prolonged treatment of WAD.

RESULTS: Female sex, the severity of the collision, poor expectations of recovery, victim mentality, dizziness, numbness or pain in the arms, and lower back pain were associated with a poor recovery from WAD.

CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, the baseline symptoms (dizziness, numbness or pain in the arms, and lower back pain) had the strongest associations with prolonged treatment for WAD, although the psychological and behavioral factors were also important. These risk factors should be considered when evaluating patients who may have the potential for poor outcomes.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1932-6203 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0132191 ID - ref1 ER -